Delaware joined the Union on December 7, 1787. It was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, which earned it the nickname “The First State.” The state was initially colonized by the Dutch in 1631, and later by the Swedes, making it one of the earliest European settlements in North America.
John McKinly became the first governor of the state of Delaware on February 21, 1777. Please note that it was at that time known as President of Delaware.
Here is a chronological list of the governors of Delaware from first to last.
Name | Time in Office | Party |
---|---|---|
John McKinly | 1777 – 1777 | Federalist |
Thomas McKean | 1777 – 1777 | Democratic-Republican |
George Read | 1777 – 1778 | Federalist |
Caesar Rodney | 1778 – 1781 | |
John Dickinson | 1781 – 1782 | Democratic-Republican |
John Cook | 1782 – 1783 | |
Nicholas Van Dyke | 1783 – 1786 | |
Thomas Collins | 1786 – 1789 | |
Jehu Davis | 1789 – 1789 | Federalist |
Joshua Clayton | 1793 – 1796 | Federalist |
Gunning Bedford | 1796 – 1797 | Federalist |
Daniel Rogers | 1797 – 1799 | Federalist |
Richard Bassett | 1799 – 1801 | Federalist |
James Sykes | 1801 – 1802 | Federalist |
David Hall | 1802 – 1805 | Democratic-Republican |
Nathaniel Mitchell | 1805 – 1808 | Federalist |
George Truitt | 1808 – 1811 | Federalist |
Daniel Rodney | 1814 – 1817 | Federalist |
John Clark | 1817 – 1820 | Federalist |
Jacob Stout | 1820 – 1821 | Federalist |
John Collins | 1821 – 1822 | Democratic-Republican |
Caleb Rodney | 1822 – 1823 | Federalist |
Joseph Haslet | 1811 – 1814, 1823 – 1823 | Democratic-Republican |
Charles Thomas | 1823 – 1824 | Democratic-Republican |
Samuel Paynter | 1824 – 1827 | Federalist |
David Hazzard | 1830 – 1833 | National Republican |
Caleb Prew Bennett | 1833 – 1836 | Democrat |
Charles Polk | 1827 – 1830, 1836 – 1837 | Federalist |
Cornelius Parsons Comegys | 1837 – 1841 | Whig |
William Barkley Cooper | 1841 – 1845 | Whig |
Thomas Stockton | 1845 – 1846 | Whig |
Joseph Maull | 1846 – 1846 | Whig |
William Temple | 1846 – 1847 | Whig |
William Tharp | 1847 – 1851 | Democrat |
William Henry Harrison Ross | 1851 – 1855 | Democrat |
Peter Foster Causey | 1855 – 1859 | Whig |
William Burton | 1859 – 1863 | Democrat |
William Cannon | 1863 – 1865 | Union |
Gove Saulsbury | 1865 – 1871 | Democrat |
James Ponder | 1871 – 1875 | Democrat |
John Polk Cochran | 1875 – 1879 | Democrat |
John Wood Hall | 1879 – 1883 | Democrat |
Charles Clark Stockley | 1883 – 1887 | Democrat |
Benjamin Thomas Biggs | 1887 – 1891 | Democrat |
Robert John Reynolds | 1891 – 1895 | Democrat |
Joshua Hopkins Marvil | 1895 – 1895 | Republican |
William Tharp Watson | 1895 – 1897 | Democrat |
Ebe Walter Tunnell | 1897 – 1901 | Democrat |
John Hunn | 1901 – 1905 | Republican |
Preston Lea | 1905 – 1909 | Republican |
Simeon Selby Pennewill | 1909 – 1913 | Republican |
Charles Robert Miller | 1913 – 1917 | Republican |
John Gillis Townsend | 1917 – 1921 | Republican |
William Du Hamel Denney | 1921 – 1925 | Republican |
Robert Pyle Robinson | 1925 – 1929 | Republican |
Clayton Douglass Buck | 1929 – 1937 | Republican |
Richard Cann McMullen | 1937 – 1941 | Democrat |
Walter Wolfkiel Bacon | 1941 – 1949 | Republican |
James Caleb Boggs | 1953 – 1960 | Republican |
David Penrose Buckson | 1960 – 1961 | Republican |
Elbert Nortrand Carvel | 1949 – 1953, 1961 – 1965 | Democrat |
Charles L. Terry | 1965 – 1969 | Democrat |
Russell W. Peterson | 1969 – 1973 | Republican |
Sherman W. Tribbitt | 1973 – 1977 | Democrat |
Pierre Samuel Du Pont | 1977 – 1985 | Republican |
Michael Newbold Castle | 1985 – 1992 | Republican |
Dale Edward Wolf | 1992 – 1993 | Republican |
Thomas R. Carper | 1993 – 2001 | Democrat |
Ruth Ann Minner | 2001 – 2009 | Democrat |
Jack Markell | 2009 – 2017 | Democrat |
John Carney | 2017 – | Democrat |
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