This is a list of colonial governors of Virginia. Some of those who held the lead role as governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

never visited the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

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 in Virginia for only a short portion of that time and delegated 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 Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor."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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

routinely took several months and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.

Governor of Virginia (1585–1590)

The first English attempt to colonize Virginia was the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke. Unsuccessful settlements were established under two different governors, and the final fate of the colonists remains unknown. * Sir Walter Raleigh, governor of Virginia (1585–1590, absentee) ** Sir Ralph Lane, governor of Roanoke (Virginia) (1585–1586) ** John White, governor of Raleigh (Virginia) (1587–1590)

Virginia Company of London Governors (1607–1624)

From 1606 until 1624, Proprietary Governors oversaw the operation of the Virginia Colony. Most were styled "President of the Council", although some were styled "governor" by the proprietors. * President of the Council

Edward Maria Wingfield Edward Maria Wingfield, sometimes hyphenated as ''Edward-Maria Wingfield'' (1550 in Stonely Priory, near Kimbolton – 1631) was a soldier, Member of Parliament, (1593) and English colonist in America. He was the son of Thomas Maria Wingfield, ...

(1607) * President of the Council

John Ratcliffe John Ratcliffe or John Ratcliff may refer to: Politicians *John Ratcliffe (American politician), former Director of National Intelligence, former congressman in Texas' 4th Congressional District, and former U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of ...

(1608) (real name "Capt. John Sicklemore"(?)) *

Matthew Scrivener Matthew Scrivener (1580 – January 7, 1609) was an English colonist in Virginia. He served briefly as acting governor of Jamestown, but drowned while attempting to cross to nearby Hog Island in a storm in 1609. Eight other colonists were al ...

(1608) *President of the Council

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

(1608–1609) *President of the Council George Percy (1609–1610) *Governor Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1609–1618, sometimes absentee) **Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gates (May–June 1610) **Deputy Governor George Percy (March–May 1611) **Acting Governor Sir Thomas Dale (May–August 1611) **Acting Governor Sir Thomas Gates (1611–1613) **Acting Governor Sir Thomas Dale (1613–1616) **Lieutenant Governor Sir George Yeardley (1616–1617) **Lieutenant Governor Sir Samuel Argall (1617–1619) *Governor Sir George Yeardley (1619–1621) *Governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1621–1624)

Crown Governors (1624–1652)

After the Virginia Company of London lost its proprietary charter in 1624, the colony was taken over by the English Crown, and became a crown colony. Governors were appointed by the ruling monarch to oversee the interests of the Crown. During the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

period (1649–1660), when England came under commonwealth rule and the protectorate rule of Oliver and

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, those governments appointed Virginia's governors. William Berkeley, who was governor at the time of the execution of King Charles I, remained in office until the arrival of a Commonwealth fleet in 1651 led to his removal. Berkeley was returned to office by votes of the Virginia assembly and by appointment of the restored King Charles II in 1660. *Governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1624–1626) *Governor Sir George Yeardley (1626–1627) *Acting Governor Francis West (1627–1629) *Governor Sir John Harvey (1628–1639) **Acting Governor John Pott (1629–1630) **Acting Governor John West (1635–1636) **Acting Governor Col. George Reade (1638–1639) *Governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1639–1642) *Governor Sir William Berkeley (1642–1652) **Acting Governor Sir Richard Kemp (1644–1645)

Commonwealth and Protectorate Governors (1652–1660)

*Governor Richard Bennett (1652–1655) *Governor

Edward Digges Edward Digges (14 February 1620 – 15 March 1674/75) was an English barrister and colonist who served as Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 1655 to December 1656. He was the son of the English politician Dudley Digges. He invested heavil ...

(1655–1656) *Governor Lt. Col. Samuel Mathews of Mathews County, Virginia (1656–1660, died in office)

Crown Governors (1660–1775)

*Governor Sir William Berkeley (1660–1677) **Lieutenant Governor Francis Moryson (1661–1662) *Governor Col. Herbert Jeffreys (1677–1678) *Governor Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway (1677–1683) **Lieutenant Governor Sir

Henry Chicheley Sir Henry Chicheley (b. 1614 or 1615 – d. February 5, 1683) was a lieutenant governor of Virginia Colony who also served as Acting Governor during multiple periods in the aftermath of Bacon's Rebellion.Billings, Warren M. “Chicheley, Sir He ...

(1678–1680) *Acting Governor Col. Nicholas Spencer (September 1683–April 1684) *Governor Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham (1684–1692, absentee from 1688) ** Gen. Joseph Bridger (1684) **President of the Council Nathaniel Bacon (1688–1690) **Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson (1690–1692) *Governor Sir Edmund Andros (1692–1698) *Governor

George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Order of the Thistle, KT (9 February 1666 – 29 January 1737), styled Lord George Hamilton from 1666 to 1696, was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British soldier and ...

(1698–1737, absentee) **Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson (1698–1705) **Lieutenant Governor Col.

Edward Nott Colonel Edward Nott (1657 – August 23, 1706) was an English 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. ...

(1705–1706) **Acting Governor Edmund Jenings (1706–1710) **Lieutenant Governor General Robert Hunter (1707, captured at sea and never served) **Lieutenant Governor Lt. Col. Alexander Spotswood (1710–1722) **Lieutenant Governor Col. Hugh Drysdale (1722–1726) **President of the Council Robert "King" Carter (1726–September 1727) **Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (1727–1740) *Governor

Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle Lieutenant-General Willem (or William) Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle (5 June 1702 – 22 December 1754) was a British soldier, diplomat and courtier. He held various roles in the household of George II (1683-1760), who was a personal fr ...

(1737–1754, absentee) **Acting Governor James Blair (1740–1741) (acting for Lt. Gov. Gooch while latter out-of-country) **Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet (1741–1749) **Acting Governor John Robinson Sr. died months after being sworn in as President August 1749; father of Speaker of the VA House of Burgess John Robinson (Virginia politician) Jr (1705–1766) and Colonel Beverley Robinson (1721–1792) **Acting Governor Thomas Lee (1749–1750) **Acting Governor Lewis Burwell I/II (1750–1751) **Lieutenant Governor

Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) 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 ...

(1751–1756) *Governor John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1756–1759) **Lieutenant Governor

(1756–January 1758) **Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier (1758–1768) *Governor Jeffery Amherst (1759–1768, absentee) **Acting Governor

John Blair, Sr. John Blair (c. 1687 – November 5, 1771) was a merchant and politician of the colony of Virginia. He served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. As a member of the House of Burgesses, he initially represented Jamestown then Willi ...

(1768) *Governor Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1768–1770) *Acting Governor William Nelson (1770–1771) *Governor John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1771–June 1775)

References