List of Governors of Texas

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Governors of Texas

#	Name	Picture	Took office	Left office	Party	Lt. Governor	Notes
1	James Pinckney Henderson James Pinckney Henderson James Pinckney Henderson was a United States and Republic of Texas lawyer, politician, soldier, and the first Governor of Texas of the Texas#History....		February 19, 1846	December 21, 1847	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party . It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world....	Albert Clinton Horton
2	George T. Wood		December 21, 1847	December 21, 1849	Democratic	John Alexander Greer
3	Peter Hansborough Bell Peter Hansborough Bell Peter Hansborough Bell was the 3rd Governor of Texas from 1849 to 1853.He also served two terms as a United States Representative from Texas's 2nd congressional district....		December 21, 1849	November 23, 1853	Democratic	John Alexander Greer (1849-51)
						James W. Henderson (1851-53)
4	James W. Henderson		November 23, 1853	December 21, 1853	Democratic	Vacant
5	Elisha M. Pease Elisha M. Pease Elisha Marshall Pease was a United States politician from the 1830s through the 1870s. He served as the 5th and 13th Governor of Texas.A native of Enfield, Connecticut, Pease moved to Mexican Texas in 1835....		December 21, 1853	December 21, 1857	Unionist Unionist Party (United States) The Union Party was a fusion political party conceived by Republican Party in 1861 to combine people of all political affiliations into a single movement committed to the preservation of the Union and to American Civil War....	David Catchings Dickson David Catchings Dickson David Catchings Dickson was an United States politician and physician in early Texas who served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas and as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives....  (1853-55)
						Hardin Richard Runnels Hardin Richard Runnels Hardin Richard Runnels was a United States of America political figure. He served as the 6th Governor of Texas between 1857 and 1859. His defeat of Sam Houston in the 1857 election for governor marked the only time that Houston ever lost an election....  (1855-57)
6	Hardin R. Runnels		December 21, 1857	December 21, 1859	Democratic	Francis R. Lubbock
7	Sam Houston Sam Houston Samuel Houston was a 19th century United States statesman, politician, and soldier. Born on Timber Ridge, just north of Lexington, Virginia in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, Houston was a key figure in the history of Texas, including periods as President of the Republic of Texas, United States Senate for Te...		December 21, 1859	March 18, 1861	Independent	Edward Clark Edward Clark (governor) Edward Clark was the 8th List of Governors of Texas. His term coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War....
8	Edward Clark Edward Clark (governor) Edward Clark was the 8th List of Governors of Texas. His term coincided with the beginning of the American Civil War....		March 18, 1861	November 7, 1861	Democratic
9	Francis R. Lubbock		November 7, 1861	November 5, 1863	Democratic
10	Pendleton Murrah Pendleton Murrah Pendleton Murrah was the 10th governor of Texas. His term in office coincided with the American Civil War.A native of South Carolina, Murrah graduated from Brown University in 1848....		November 5, 1863	June 17, 1865	Democratic	Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale
	Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale		June 11, 1865	June 16, 1865	Military
11	Andrew J. Hamilton Andrew J. Hamilton Andrew Jackson Hamilton was a United States politician during the third quarter of the 19th century. He was a lawyer, state representative, Military governor of Texas, as well as governor of Texas during Reconstruction era of the United States....		June 17, 1865	August 9, 1866	Democratic-Military	Vacant
12	James W. Throckmorton James W. Throckmorton James Webb Throckmorton was an United States politician who served as Governor of Texas from 1866 to 1867 during the early days of Reconstruction era of the United States....		August 9, 1866	August 8, 1867	Democratic	George Washington Jones George Washington Jones (Texas politician) George Washington Jones was a Texas politician, a List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas and a United States Greenback Party member of the United States House of Representatives....
13	Elisha M. Pease Elisha M. Pease Elisha Marshall Pease was a United States politician from the 1830s through the 1870s. He served as the 5th and 13th Governor of Texas.A native of Enfield, Connecticut, Pease moved to Mexican Texas in 1835....		June 8, 1867	September 30, 1869	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
14	Edmund J. Davis Edmund J. Davis Edmund Jackson Davis was an United States lawyer and politician from Texas. He was born in St. Augustine, Florida.Davis served as a Union Army Brigadier general during the American Civil War, commanding the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment ....		January 8, 1870	January 15, 1874	Republican	Vacant
15	Richard Coke Richard Coke Richard Coke was an United States lawyer, farmer, and statesman from Waco, Texas. He was the 15th Governor of Texas from 1874 to 1876 and represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1877 to 1895....		January 15, 1874	December 21, 1876	Democratic
16	Richard B. Hubbard Richard B. Hubbard Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr. was the 16th Governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889. He was a Confederate States of America veteran of the American Civil War and was a member of the United States Democratic Party....		December 21, 1876	January 21, 1879	Democratic
17	Oran M. Roberts Oran M. Roberts Oran Milo Roberts , was 17th Governor of Texas from January 21, 1879 to January 16, 1883. He was a member of the Democratic Party . Roberts County, Texas is partially named after him....		January 21, 1879	January 16, 1883	Democratic
18	John Ireland John Ireland (politician) John Ireland was the 18th List of Governors of Texas from 1883 to 1887. During Ireland's term, the University of Texas at Austin was established, and construction on the Texas State Capitol began....		January 16, 1883	January 20, 1887	Democratic
19	Lawrence Sullivan Ross Lawrence Sullivan Ross Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross was the 19th Governor of Texas of Texas, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and a president of the Texas A&M University....		January 18, 1887	January 20, 1891	Democratic
20	James Stephen Hogg Jim Hogg James Stephen "Big Jim" Hogg was a Texas lawyer and statesman, and the Governor of Texas. He was born near Rusk, Texas. Hogg is often remembered for naming his daughter Ima Hogg, an odd name which derived from a poem written by James' brother, Thomas Elisha Hogg....		January 20, 1891	January 15, 1895	Democratic
21	Charles A. Culberson		January 15, 1895	January 17, 1899	Democratic
22	Joseph D. Sayers Joseph D. Sayers Joseph Draper Sayers was List of Governors of Texas from 1899 to 1903. During Sayers's term, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 demolished that city....		January 17, 1899	January 20, 1903	Democratic
23	S. W. T. Lanham		January 20, 1903	January 15, 1907	Democratic
24	Thomas Mitchell Campbell Thomas Mitchell Campbell Thomas Mitchell Campbell was Governor of Texas from 1907 to 1911....		January 15, 1907	January 17, 1911	Democratic
25	Oscar Branch Colquitt Oscar Branch Colquitt Oscar Branch Colquitt was Governor of Texas from January 17, 1911 to January 19, 1915. He was a member of the Democratic Party . Gov. Colquitt defended the actions of the Texas Rangers who allegedly crossed into Mexico in pursuit of the body of Clemente Vergara in March 1914....		January 17, 1911	January 19, 1915	Democratic
26	James E. "Pa" Ferguson James E. Ferguson James Edward "Pa" Ferguson was a United States politician from the U.S. state of Texas....		January 19, 1915	August 25, 1917	Democratic
27	William P. Hobby William P. Hobby William Pettus Hobby was the publisher of the Houston Post and the 27th Governor of Texas of the U.S. state of Texas from 1917 to 1921.Born in Moscow, Texas, Hobby became a circulation clerk for the Post in 1895 and was promoted to business writer in August 1901....		August 25, 1917	January 18, 1921	Democratic
28	Pat Morris Neff Pat Morris Neff Pat Morris Neff was governor of Texas from 1921 to 1925. He had previously served in the Texas House of Representatives, including a term as Speaker ....		January 18, 1921	January 20, 1925	Democratic
29	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson Miriam A. Ferguson Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson became the first female governor of Texas in 1925. She was born in Bell County, Texas. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson, the governor from 1915 to 1917, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term....		January 20, 1925	January 17, 1927	Democratic	Barry Miller
30	Dan Moody Dan Moody Daniel James Moody, Jr. was a United States of America political figure and Democratic Party . Born in Taylor, Texas, he served as the Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered in Texas history as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan....		January 17, 1927	January 20, 1931	Democratic
31	Ross S. Sterling Ross S. Sterling Ross Shaw Sterling was a United States political figure. He was the Governor of Texas of Texas between January 20, 1931 and January 17 1933.Sterling was born February 11, 1875 in Anahuac, Texas, Chambers County, Texas, Texas....		January 20, 1931	January 17, 1933	Democratic	Edgar E. Witt
32	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson Miriam A. Ferguson Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson became the first female governor of Texas in 1925. She was born in Bell County, Texas. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson, the governor from 1915 to 1917, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term....		January 17, 1933	January 15, 1935	Democratic
33	James V. Allred		January 15, 1935	January 17, 1939	Democratic	Walter Frank Woodul Walter Frank Woodul Walter Frank Woodul was a Texas politician who was an early proponent of a state highway system. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas during the 1930s....
34	W. Lee O'Daniel W. Lee O'Daniel Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel was a radio personality and a Democratic Party politician from Texas.O'Daniel was born in Malta, Ohio, and as a young child moved to Reno County, Kansas....		January 17, 1939	August 4, 1941	Democratic	Coke R. Stevenson Coke R. Stevenson Coke Robert Stevenson was Governor of Texas of Texas from 1941 to 1947. He was the only 20th century Texas politician to serve as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and then as governor....
35	Coke R. Stevenson Coke R. Stevenson Coke Robert Stevenson was Governor of Texas of Texas from 1941 to 1947. He was the only 20th century Texas politician to serve as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and then as governor....		August 4, 1941	January 21, 1947	Democratic	Vacant (1941-43)
						John Lee Smith John Lee Smith John Lee Smith was the lieutenant governor of Texas during World War II and a vocal opponent of Texas labor unions during his tenure.Born May 16, 1894 at Chico, Texas, and raised in Throckmorton, Texas, Smith was educated at Stanford University and West Texas State Teachers College before teaching school....  (1943-47)
36	Beauford H. Jester Beauford H. Jester Beauford Halbert Jester was a United States political figure, the son of George Taylor Jester and his second wife, Frances Gordon Jester. He served as the governor of Texas of Texas from 1947 until 1949, when he died of a myocardial infarction....		January 21, 1947	July 11, 1949	Democratic	Allan Shivers Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the Conservative Political faction of the U.S. Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s....
37	Allan Shivers Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers was a Texas politician who led the Conservative Political faction of the U.S. Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s....		July 11, 1949	January 15, 1957	Democratic	Vacant (1949-51)
						Ben Ramsey Ben Ramsey Ben Ramsey was a Texas politician who served in a succession of offices during the mid-20th century. He served in both Houses of the Texas Legislature, as Secretary of State of Texas, lieutenant governor, and railroad commissioner....  (1951-53)
38	Price Daniel Price Daniel Marion Price Daniel Sr. was a Texas politician. He served as Democratic Party U.S. senator and governor for the state of Texas.Daniel was born in Dayton, Texas, and he graduated from Baylor University....		January 15, 1957	January 21, 1963	Democratic	Ben Ramsey Ben Ramsey Ben Ramsey was a Texas politician who served in a succession of offices during the mid-20th century. He served in both Houses of the Texas Legislature, as Secretary of State of Texas, lieutenant governor, and railroad commissioner....
39	John Connally John Connally John Bowden Connally, Jr. was an influential Politics of the United States, serving as Governor of Texas, and Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents John F....		January 15, 1963	January 21, 1969	Democratic	Preston Smith Preston Smith (Texas) Preston Earnest Smith was a Democratic Party governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973, who earlier served as the lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1969....
40	Preston Smith Preston Smith (Texas) Preston Earnest Smith was a Democratic Party governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973, who earlier served as the lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1969....		January 21, 1969	January 16, 1973	Democratic	Ben Barnes
41	Dolph Briscoe Dolph Briscoe Dolph Briscoe, Jr. is a wealthy Uvalde, Texas rancher and businessman who was the Democratic Party List of Governors of Texas between 1973 and 1979....		January 16, 1973	January 16, 1979	Democratic	William P. Hobby, Jr. William P. Hobby, Jr. William Pettus ?Bill? Hobby, Jr., is a Texas Democratic Party politician who served a record eighteen years as his state's Lieutenant Governor of Texas....
42	Bill Clements Bill Clements William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. , is the first Republican Party to have served as governor of the United States state of Texas since Reconstruction era of the United States....		January 16, 1979	January 18, 1983	Republican
43	Mark White Mark White Mark Wells White is an United States lawyer, who served as the forty-third Governor of Texas from 1983-1987. He is currently considered to be a potential contender for the 2009 Houston mayoral race....		January 18, 1983	January 20, 1987	Democratic
44	Bill Clements Bill Clements William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. , is the first Republican Party to have served as governor of the United States state of Texas since Reconstruction era of the United States....		January 20, 1987	January 15, 1991	Republican
45	Ann Richards Ann Richards This article is about the American politician/teacher, for the Australian-American actress, see Ann Richards . For the American jazz singer, see Ann Richards ....		January 15, 1991	January 17, 1995	Democratic	Bob Bullock Bob Bullock Robert D. "Bob" Bullock was a Democratic Party politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from 1991?1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W....
46	George W. Bush George W. Bush George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....		January 17, 1995	December 21, 2000	Republican	Bob Bullock Bob Bullock Robert D. "Bob" Bullock was a Democratic Party politician from Texas, whose career spanned four decades. His service culminated in his term as Lieutenant Governor of Texas from 1991?1999 during the terms of Governors Ann Richards and George W....  (1995-99)
						Rick Perry Rick Perry James Richard "Rick" Perry is a Republican Party politician and the current List of Governors of Texas.Elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998, he assumed office as governor in December 2000 when Governor George W....  (1999-2000)
47	Rick Perry Rick Perry James Richard "Rick" Perry is a Republican Party politician and the current List of Governors of Texas.Elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998, he assumed office as governor in December 2000 when Governor George W....		December 21, 2000	Incumbent	Republican	Bill Ratliff Bill Ratliff Bill Ratliff, born 1937, is a Texas politician who served as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1988 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003 he served as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, after former lieutenant governor Rick Perry succeeded to the governorship ....  (acting) (2000-03)
						David Dewhurst David Dewhurst David Dewhurst is the Republican Party Lieutenant Governor of Texas of Texas....  (2003-present)

Other high offices held

Living former governors

Gubernatorial Trivia

Background

• Texas has had two female governors:
• Miriam A. Ferguson
  Miriam A. Ferguson
  
  Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson became the first female governor of Texas in 1925. She was born in Bell County, Texas. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson, the governor from 1915 to 1917, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term....
  
• Ann Richards
  Ann Richards
  
  This article is about the American politician/teacher, for the Australian-American actress, see Ann Richards . For the American jazz singer, see Ann Richards ....
  
• Governors have been born in fourteen states:
• Alabama
  Alabama
  
  Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
  
• Connecticut
  Connecticut
  
  Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
  
• Florida
  Florida
  
  Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
  
• Georgia
  Georgia (U.S. state)
  
  Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....
  
• Iowa
  Iowa
  
  The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....
  
• Kentucky
  Kentucky
  
  The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
  
• Louisiana
  Louisiana
  
  The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
  
• Mississippi
  Mississippi
  
  Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
  
• North Carolina
  North Carolina
  
  North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
  
• Ohio
  Ohio
  
  Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
  
• South Carolina
  South Carolina
  
  South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....
  
• Tennessee
  Tennessee
  
  Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
  
• Texas
  Texas
  
  Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
  
• Virginia
  Virginia
  
  The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
  

Elections

• Three governors have served non-consecutive terms:
• Elisha M. Pease
  Elisha M. Pease
  
  Elisha Marshall Pease was a United States politician from the 1830s through the 1870s. He served as the 5th and 13th Governor of Texas.A native of Enfield, Connecticut, Pease moved to Mexican Texas in 1835....
  
• Miriam A. Ferguson
  Miriam A. Ferguson
  
  Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson became the first female governor of Texas in 1925. She was born in Bell County, Texas. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson, the governor from 1915 to 1917, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term....
  
• Bill Clements
  Bill Clements
  
  William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. , is the first Republican Party to have served as governor of the United States state of Texas since Reconstruction era of the United States....
  
• For 105 years between 1874 and 1979, no Republican was elected governor.

Texas Governors in Popular Culture

• W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel
  W. Lee O'Daniel
  
  Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel was a radio personality and a Democratic Party politician from Texas.O'Daniel was born in Malta, Ohio, and as a young child moved to Reno County, Kansas....
   served as the inspiration for the fictional, but similarly named Mississippi
  Mississippi
  
  Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
   Governor Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  
  O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a comedy-adventure film made by the Coen Brothers. Released in 2000 in film, the film is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression ....
  .
• Ann Richards
  Ann Richards
  
  This article is about the American politician/teacher, for the Australian-American actress, see Ann Richards . For the American jazz singer, see Ann Richards ....
   had a cameo appearance on an episode of the animated comedy series King of the Hill, in which she has a brief romance with Bill Dauterive after he moons
  Indecent exposure
  
  Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure by a person of a portion or portions of his or her own body under circumstances where such an exposure is likely to be seen as contrary to the local commonly accepted standards of decency , and may in fact be a violation of law....
   her in the elevator of an Austin
  Austin, Texas
  
  Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Travis County, Texas. Situated in Central Texas and part of the Southwestern United States, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 16th-largest in the United States....
   hotel.

See also

• List of Texas Governors and Presidents
  List of Texas Governors and Presidents
  
  Texas has had chief executives with the titles of governors and presidents since 1691. These were under the flags of:* Spain * Mexico ...
  
• List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
  List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
  
  The Republic of Texas was formed in 1836. In the midst of the Texas Revolution, Texan settlers elected delegates to the Convention of 1836, which issued the Texas Declaration of Independence and elected David G....
  
• List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas
  List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas
  
  Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in state government.For more information about the office and powers of the Lieutenant Governor see Lieutenant Governor of Texas....