List of Governors of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the head of the executive branch of Indiana's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Indiana General Assembly, to convene that body, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment.[1]
While a territory, Indiana had two President-appointed governors.[2] Since statehood in 1816, it has had 47 governors, serving 49 distinct terms; Isaac P. Gray and Henry F. Schricker are the only governors to have served non-consecutive terms. The longest-serving state governors are Otis R. Bowen, Evan Bayh and Mitch Daniels at 8 years, 4 days; territorial governor William Henry Harrison served for over 12 years. The shortest-serving governor is Henry Smith Lane, who served two days before resigning to become a U.S. Senator.[3] The current governor is Mike Pence, who took office on January 14, 2013, and was elected in 2012 to serve until January 9, 2017, when governor-elect Eric Holcomb will take office.
Governors
The United States acquired the land that became Indiana after the American Revolutionary War. The region was originally organized as the Northwest Territory, consisting of all of the land in the United States north and west of the Ohio River. The Indiana Territory was split from the Northwest Territory in 1800.
- For the period before the Indiana Territory was formed, see the list of Governors of Northwest Territory.
Governors of the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory was formed on July 4, 1800, and consisted of present-day Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and parts of Michigan and Minnesota. Michigan Territory was split from the territory on June 30, 1805, and Illinois Territory followed on March 1, 1809, leaving Indiana Territory with its final borders.[4] From October 1, 1804, to July 4, 1805, the District of Louisiana was under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory.[5]
# | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Henry Harrison | January 10, 1801 – December 28, 1812 |
John Adams | |
Thomas Jefferson | ||||
James Madison | ||||
– | John Gibson | December 28, 1812 – March 3, 1813 |
acting[lower-alpha 1] | |
2 | Thomas Posey | March 3, 1813 – November 7, 1816 |
James Madison |
Governors of the state of Indiana
Indiana was admitted to the Union on December 11, 1816.[7] The original 1816 Constitution of Indiana provided for the election of a governor and a lieutenant governor every three years.[8] The second and current constitution of 1851 lengthened terms to four years and set the commencement of the governor's term on the second Monday in the January following the election.[9] Governors were allowed to serve for four years in any eight-year period,[9] but this was extended by a 1972 amendment permitting governors to serve for eight years in any twelve-year period.[10] Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.[11] Nine lieutenant governors have succeeded to the governorship. If the office of lieutenant governor is vacant, the president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate becomes governor;[11] this has happened once, when James B. Ray succeeded William Hendricks.[12]
- Parties
Democratic (21)
Democratic-Republican (3)
Independent (1)
Republican (22)
Whig (3)
# | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Lt. Governor[lower-alpha 2] | Terms[lower-alpha 3] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jonathan Jennings | November 7, 1816 | September 12, 1822 | Democratic- Republican |
Christopher Harrison[lower-alpha 4] | 1 1⁄2[lower-alpha 5] | ||
Ratliff Boon | ||||||||
2 | Ratliff Boon | September 12, 1822 | December 5, 1822 | Democratic- Republican |
vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
3 | William Hendricks | December 5, 1822 | February 12, 1825 | Democratic- Republican |
Ratliff Boon | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 7] | ||
4 | James B. Ray | February 12, 1825 | December 7, 1831 | Independent | John H. Thompson | 2 1⁄2[lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9] | ||
Milton Stapp | ||||||||
5 | Noah Noble | December 7, 1831 | December 6, 1837 | Whig | David Wallace | 2 | ||
6 | David Wallace | December 6, 1837 | December 9, 1840 | Whig | David Hillis | 1 | ||
7 | Samuel Bigger | December 9, 1840 | December 6, 1843 | Whig | Samuel Hall | 1 | ||
8 | James Whitcomb | December 6, 1843 | December 26, 1848 | Democratic | Jesse D. Bright | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 7] | ||
Paris C. Dunning | ||||||||
9 | Dunning, Paris C.Paris C. Dunning | December 26, 1848 | December 5, 1849 | Democratic | vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
10 | Wright, Joseph A.Joseph A. Wright | December 5, 1849 | January 12, 1857 | Democratic | James H. Lane | 2 | ||
Ashbel P. Willard | ||||||||
11 | Ashbel P. Willard | January 12, 1857 | October 4, 1860 | Democratic | Abram A. Hammond | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 10] | ||
12 | Abram A. Hammond | October 4, 1860 | January 14, 1861 | Democratic | vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
13 | Henry Smith Lane | January 14, 1861 | January 16, 1861 | Republican | Oliver P. Morton | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 7] | ||
14 | Oliver P. Morton | January 16, 1861 | January 23, 1867 | Republican | Conrad Baker | 3[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7] | ||
15 | Conrad Baker | January 23, 1867 | January 13, 1873 | Republican | Will Cumback | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6][N 1] | ||
16 | Thomas A. Hendricks | January 13, 1873 | January 8, 1877 | Democratic | Leonidas Sexton | 1 | ||
17 | James D. Williams | January 8, 1877 | November 20, 1880 | Democratic | Isaac P. Gray | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 11] | ||
18 | Isaac P. Gray | November 20, 1880 | January 10, 1881 | Democratic | vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
19 | Albert G. Porter | January 10, 1881 | January 12, 1885 | Republican | Thomas Hanna | 1 | ||
20 | Isaac P. Gray | January 12, 1885 | January 14, 1889 | Democratic | Mahlon Dickerson Manson | 1 | ||
21 | Alvin P. Hovey | January 14, 1889 | November 23, 1891 | Republican | Ira Joy Chase | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 11] | ||
22 | Ira J. Chase | November 23, 1891 | January 9, 1893 | Republican | vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
23 | Claude Matthews | January 9, 1893 | January 11, 1897 | Democratic | Mortimer Nye | 1 | ||
24 | James A. Mount | January 11, 1897 | January 14, 1901 | Republican | William S. Haggard | 1 | ||
25 | Winfield T. Durbin | January 14, 1901 | January 9, 1905 | Republican | Newton W. Gilbert | 1 | ||
26 | J. Frank Hanly | January 9, 1905 | January 11, 1909 | Republican | Hugh Thomas Miller | 1 | ||
27 | Thomas R. Marshall | January 11, 1909 | January 13, 1913 | Democratic | Frank J. Hall | 1 | ||
28 | Samuel M. Ralston | January 13, 1913 | January 8, 1917 | Democratic | William P. O'Neill | 1 | ||
29 | James P. Goodrich | January 8, 1917 | January 10, 1921 | Republican | Edgar D. Bush | 1 | ||
30 | Warren T. McCray | January 10, 1921 | April 30, 1924 | Republican | Emmett Forrest Branch | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 12] | ||
31 | Emmett Forrest Branch | April 30, 1924 | January 12, 1925 | Republican | vacant | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
32 | Edward L. Jackson | January 12, 1925 | January 14, 1929 | Republican | F. Harold Van Orman | 1 | ||
33 | Harry G. Leslie | January 14, 1929 | January 9, 1933 | Republican | Edgar D. Bush | 1 | ||
34 | Paul V. McNutt | January 9, 1933 | January 11, 1937 | Democratic | M. Clifford Townsend | 1 | ||
35 | M. Clifford Townsend | January 11, 1937 | January 13, 1941 | Democratic | Henry F. Schricker | 1 | ||
36 | Henry F. Schricker | January 13, 1941 | January 8, 1945 | Democratic | Charles M. Dawson | 1 | ||
37 | Ralph F. Gates | January 8, 1945 | January 10, 1949 | Republican | Richard T. James | 1 | ||
38 | Henry F. Schricker | January 10, 1949 | January 12, 1953 | Democratic | John A. Watkins | 1 | ||
Rue J. Alexander | ||||||||
39 | George N. Craig | January 12, 1953 | January 14, 1957 | Republican | Harold W. Handley | 1 | ||
40 | Harold W. Handley | January 14, 1957 | January 9, 1961 | Republican | Crawford F. Parker | 1 | ||
41 | Matthew E. Welsh | January 9, 1961 | January 11, 1965 | Democratic | Richard O. Ristine | 1 | ||
42 | Roger D. Branigin | January 11, 1965 | January 13, 1969 | Democratic | Robert L. Rock | 1 | ||
43 | Edgar Whitcomb | January 13, 1969 | January 8, 1973 | Republican | Richard E. Folz | 1 | ||
44 | Otis R. Bowen | January 8, 1973 | January 12, 1981 | Republican | Robert D. Orr | 2 | ||
45 | Robert D. Orr | January 12, 1981 | January 9, 1989 | Republican | John Mutz | 2 | ||
46 | Evan Bayh | January 9, 1989 | January 13, 1997 | Democratic | Frank O'Bannon | 2 | ||
47 | Frank O'Bannon | January 13, 1997 | September 13, 2003 | Democratic | Joe Kernan | 1 1⁄2[lower-alpha 11] | ||
48 | Joe Kernan | September 13, 2003 | January 10, 2005 | Democratic | Kathy Davis | 1⁄2[lower-alpha 6] | ||
49 | Mitch Daniels | January 10, 2005 | January 14, 2013 | Republican | Becky Skillman | 2 | ||
50 | Mike Pence | January 14, 2013 | January 9, 2017 | Republican | Sue Ellspermann | 1[lower-alpha 13] | ||
Eric Holcomb | ||||||||
51 | Eric Holcomb | January 9, 2017 | Elect | Republican | Suzanne Crouch | 1 |
Other high offices held
This is a table of congressional seats and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Indiana except where noted.
- * Denotes those offices for which the governor resigned the governorship.
- † Denotes those offices from which the governor resigned to take the governorship.
Living former U.S. governors of Indiana
As of October 2016, there are three former governors and one outgoing governor of Indiana who are currently living at this time, the oldest being Joe Kernan (served 2003–2005, born 1946). The most recent governor to die was Edgar Whitcomb (served 1969–1973, born 1917), on February 4, 2016. The most recently serving governor to die was Frank O'Bannon (served 1997–2003, born 1930), in office on September 13, 2003.
Evan Bayh
(1989–1997)
December 26, 1955Joe Kernan
(2003–2005)
April 8, 1946Mitch Daniels
(2005–2013)
April 7, 1949
Notes
- ↑ John Gibson is sometimes known as Indiana's second territorial governor. He actually only served as acting governor of the Indiana Territory during the absences of Governor William Henry Harrison.[6]
- ↑ Does not include acting lieutenant governors. All lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor.
- ↑ The fractional terms of some governors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple governors served due to resignations and deaths. Note that before 1851 the gubernatorial term was three years, and it was four years after 1851.
- ↑ Christopher Harrison served as acting governor for three months in 1819 while Jennings conducting negotiations with native tribes
- ↑ Resigned to take elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
- 1 2 3 4 Resigned to take elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ↑ As president pro tempore of the Indiana Senate, filled unexpired term.
- ↑ At age 31, Governor Ray is the youngest person to serve as governor.
- ↑ Died in office.
- 1 2 3 Died in office.
- ↑ Resigned following his conviction for mail fraud, and served three years in prison until he was pardoned by President Herbert Hoover in 1927.[14]
- ↑ Governor Pence's term expires on January 9, 2017; he did not run for re-election.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Indiana. |
- General
- Funk, Arville L (1983) [1969]. A Sketchbook of Indiana History. Rochester, Indiana: Christian Book Press.
- Indiana Historical Bureau. "Lieutenant Governors". State of Indiana. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
- "Indiana Governors". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- McLauchlan, William P. (1996). The Indiana State Constitution. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-29208-6.
- "Previous Governors". State of Indiana. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- Woollen, William Wesley (1975). Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana. Ayer Publishing. ISBN 0-405-06896-4.
- Constitutions
- "Constitution of the State of Indiana". Indiana Legislature. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- "1816 Constitution of the State of Indiana". State of Indian. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- "1851 Constitution of the State of Indiana". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- Specific
- ↑ IN Const. art V
- ↑ Funk, p. 204
- ↑ "Henry Smith Lane". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ↑ Funk, p. 188
- ↑ Shoemaker, Floyd Calvin (1916). Missouri's Struggle for Statehood, 1804-1821. Jefferson City: The Hugh Stephens Printing Co. pp. 15–24. OCLC 4014912. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
- ↑ "John Gibson Letters". Indiana State Library. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ↑ Funk, p. 36
- ↑ 1816 Const. art. IV, § 3
- 1 2 IN Const. art. V, § 1
- ↑ McLauchlan p. 94
- 1 2 IN Const. art. V, § 10
- ↑ Woollen, p. 56
- ↑ "Indiana Governor Conrad Baker". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Warren Terry McCray". Indiana Historical Bureau. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ↑ Woollen, pp. 1–5
- ↑ "Harrison, William Henry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ Woollen, p. 28
- ↑ "Posey, Thomas". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ Woollen, pp. 29–31
- ↑ "Jennings, Jonathan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Boon, Ratliff". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Hendricks, William". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Wallace, David". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Whitcomb, James". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ Woollen, p. 96
- ↑ "Wright, Joseph Albert". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Lane, Henry Smith". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Morton, Oliver Hazard Perry Throck". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Hendricks, Thomas Andrew". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Williams, James Douglas". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Porter, Albert Gallatin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Hovery, Alvin Peterson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Hanly, James Franklin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Marshall, Thomas Riley". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Ralston, Samuel Moffett". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Indiana Governor Paul Vories McNutt". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Indiana Governor Otis Ray Bowen". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Robert D. Orr (1917–2004". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ↑ "Bayh, Evan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
- ↑ "Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved December 8, 2008.