This is a list of colonial governors of Virginia.
Note: Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years, but were only in Virginia a short portion of that time, delegating to others most of the time.
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This is a
list of colonial governors of Virginia.
Note: Some of those who held the lead role as governor of Virginia never visited the New World and governed through deputies resident in the colony. Others, such as Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, held the lead role for many years, but were only in Virginia a short portion of that time, delegating to others most of the time. Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor." Also, transportation from England routinely took several months, and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.
Virginia Company of London Governors (1607–1624)
From 1606 until 1624,
Proprietary GovernorProprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
s oversaw the operation of the Virginia Colony.
- Edward Maria Wingfield
Captain Edward Maria Wingfield, sometimes hyphenated as Edward-Maria Wingfield, was a soldier, Member of Parliament, and English colonist in America. He was the grandson of Richard Wingfield and son of Thomas Maria Wingfield...
(1607)
- John Ratcliffe
John Ratcliffe was captain of the Discovery, one of three ships that sailed from England on December 19, 1606, to Virginia, to find a colony, arriving May 14, 1607. He later became the second president of the colony which later became Jamestown...
(1608) {real name "Capt. John Sicklemore"{?}}
- Matthew Scrivener
Matthew Scrivener was an English colonist in America. He served briefly as acting governor of Jamestown, when he was succeeded by Capt. John Smith...
(1608)
- John Smith
Captain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He is remembered for his role in establishing the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, Virginia, and his brief association with the Virginia Indian girl Pocahontas during an...
(1608–1609)
- George Percy
George Percy was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia.- Early life :George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 2nd/8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville. He was sickly for much of his life, possibly suffering from epilepsy or...
(1609–1610)
- Thomas Gates
Sir Thomas Gates , followed George Percy as governor of Jamestown, the English colony of Virginia . Percy, through inept leadership, was responsible for the lives lost during the period called the "starving time"...
(1610)
- Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr was the Englishman after whom the bay, river and, consequently, a American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named....
(1610–1611)
- George Percy
George Percy was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia.- Early life :George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 2nd/8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Catherine Neville. He was sickly for much of his life, possibly suffering from epilepsy or...
(1611)
- Thomas Dale
Sir Thomas Dale was a British naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
(1611, 1614–1616)
- Thomas Gates
Sir Thomas Gates , followed George Percy as governor of Jamestown, the English colony of Virginia . Percy, through inept leadership, was responsible for the lives lost during the period called the "starving time"...
(1611–1614)
- George Yeardley
Sir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
(1616–1617, 1619–1621)
- Samuel Argall
Sir Samuel Argall was an English adventurer and naval officer.As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the Virginia Colony based at Jamestown, and made numerous voyages to the New World...
(1617–1619)
- Francis Wyatt
Sir Francis Wyatt was the first English colonial governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on August 1, 1621 on board the George. He became governor shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony...
(1621–1624)
Crown Governors (1624–1652)
After the Virginia Company of London lost its proprietary charter in 1624, Royal Governors oversaw the interests of the Crown in the Virginia Colony until the American Revolution, except for a period under
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in...
and the Commonwealth of England from 1652-1660.
- Francis Wyatt
Sir Francis Wyatt was the first English colonial governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on August 1, 1621 on board the George. He became governor shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony...
(1624–1626, 1639–1642)
- George Yeardley
Sir George Yeardley was a plantation owner and three time colonial Governor of the British Colony of Virginia. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply Mission, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, was shipwrecked on Bermuda for 10 months in 1609-10, he is best remembered...
(1626–1627)
- Francis West
Francis West , was a Deputy Governor of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.West was the second son of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr of Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire and his wife, Anne Knollys....
(1627–1629)
- John Pott
John Potts was a physician and Colonial Governor of Virginia at the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia Colony in the early 17th century.-Biography:...
s (1629–1630)
- John Harvey
Sir John Harvey was a British Colonial Governor of Virginia. He was elected to the position on March 26, 1628. In 1635 he was suspended and impeached by the House of Burgesses , and he returned to England. He was restored to his post by the King in 1636 and returned to Virginia the following year...
(1630–1635, 1637–1639)
- John West
John West was the colonial Governor of Virginia from 1635 to 1637, the third West brother to serve in that position.-Biography:He was the fourth son and twelfth child of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr, of Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire, and his wife, Lady Anne Knollys.His maternal grandparents...
(1635–1637)
- William Berkeley
Sir William Berkeley was a governor of Virginia, appointed by King Charles I, of whom he was a favorite....
(1642–1652)
- Richard Kemp (1644–1645)
Commonwealth of England Governors (1652–1660)
- Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett was an English Colonial Governor of Virginia.Born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, Bennett served as governor from April 30, 1652, until March 2, 1655. His uncle, Edward Bennett, was a wealthy merchant from London and one of the few Puritan members of the Virginia Company, who had...
(1652–1655)
- Edward Digges
Edward Digges was born at Chilham Castle, Kent, England on March 29, 1620 and died at his Bellfield Plantation, in York County, Virginia on March 15, 1674/5....
(1655–1656)
- Samuel Mathews
Samuel Mathews of Warwick County in the British Colony of Virginia was a member of the House of Burgesses, the Governor's Council, and served as Royal Governor of Virginia from 1656-1660.-Biography:...
(1656–1660)
- William Berkeley
Sir William Berkeley was a governor of Virginia, appointed by King Charles I, of whom he was a favorite....
(1660)
Crown Governors (1660–1775)
- William Berkeley
Sir William Berkeley was a governor of Virginia, appointed by King Charles I, of whom he was a favorite....
(1660–1677)
- Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway (1677–1683)
- Col. Nicholas Spencer
Col. Nicholas Spencer was a London merchant who emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represented in the Virginia House of Burgesses...
(September 1683 – April 1684)
- Gen Joseph Bridger
The Bridger Family of Virginia was one of the First Families of Virginia. The family originated in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The family first appeared in the United States of America in 1654 when General Joseph Bridger, Sr., the son of Samuel and Mary Bridger, came to Isle of Wight,...
(1684)
- Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham
Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham was a member of the Howard Family, descended from noted naval commander Lord High Admiral Howard, and a Crown Governor of Virginia.-Family:...
(1684–1692)
- Edmund Andros
Sir Edmund Andros was an early colonial English governor in North America, and head of the short-lived Dominion of New England....
(1692–1698)
- Francis Nicholson
Francis Nicholson was a British military officer and was colonial governor or acting governor of New York, Virginia, Maryland, Nova Scotia, and South Carolina....
(1698–1705)
- President of the Council Edward Nott
Colonel Edward Nott, Esq. was a British Colonial Governor of Virginia. He was appointed by Queen Anne on either April 25, 1705 or August 15, 1705. His administration lasted only one year, as he died in 1706 at the age of 49. He is interred at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia...
(1705–1706)
- Edmund Jenings
Edmund Jenings was a Virginian politician. He was President of the Council of Virginia and later became the acting governor from August 23, 1706, to June 10, 1708.His father Sir Edmund Jenings was a Member of Parliament...
(1706–1708)
- Robert Hunter (1707–1709)
- George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
Field Marshal George Douglas-Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney KT was a British soldier and Scottish nobleman and the first British Army officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The son of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, he fought for William of Orange in Ireland and the Low Countries...
(1710–1737, absentee)
- Lieutenant Governor: Alexander Spotswood
Alexander Spotswood was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army and a noted Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He is noted in Virginia and American history for a number of his projects as Governor, including his exploring beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, his establishing what was perhaps the first...
(1714–1722)
- Lieutenant Governor: Hugh Drysdale
Colonel Hugh Drysdale was a British Colonial Governor of Virginia. More officially, his title was Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia...
(1722–1726)
- President of the Council: Robert "King" Carter
Robert 'King' Carter of Lancaster County was a colonist in Virginia and became one of the wealthiest men in the colonies....
(1726 – September 1727)http://www.christchurch1735.org/history/robert_carter.html
- Lieutenant Governor: William Gooch (1727–1740)
- Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (1737–1754, absentee)
- President of the Council: James Blair (1740-41) (acting for Lt. Gov. Gooch while latter out-of-country)
- Lieutenant Governor: Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (1741–1749)
- President of the Council: Thomas Lee
Thomas Lee was a leading political figure of colonial Virginia. He was a member of the Lee family, a political dynasty which included many figures from the pre-Revolutionary War era until the late 20th century. Lee became involved in politics in 1710 and he became the resident manager of the...
. (1749–1750)
- Lieutenant Governor: Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
(1751 – January 1758)
- John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun was a British nobleman and army officer.-Early career:Campbell inherited the peerage on the death of his father in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. The earl raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the Hanoverian...
, (1756–1759)
- Lieutenant Governor: Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
(1751 – January 1758)
- Lieutenant Governor: Francis Fauquier
Francis Fauquier was a Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Colony , and served as acting governor from 1758 until his death in 1768. He was married to Catherine Dalston....
(1758–1768)
- Jeffery Amherst (1759–1768, absentee)
- President of the Council John Blair, Sr. (1768)
- Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1768–1770)
- William Nelson
William Nelson was an American planter and colonial leader from Yorktown, Virginia. In the interim between the royal governors Norborne Berkeley and Lord Dunmore, he served as governor of colonial Virginia in 1770 and 1771....
(1770–1771)
- John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore , was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.-Early career:He was born in Scotland in 1732...
(1771 – June 1775)
See also
- Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
- Virginia Company of London
- Virginia Colony
- List of Governors of Virginia