List of Kentucky governors from first to last

Kentucky joined the Union on June 1, 1792, becoming the 15th state to be admitted. Its entrance into the Union followed several years of settlers moving into the region and establishing communities, with significant negotiation and legal processes to transition from being a part of Virginia to becoming its own state entity. This period was marked by debates over statehood requirements, the alignment of state and federal laws, and the establishment of a stable government structure that would represent Kentucky’s interests at the national level.

Isaac Shelby became the first governor of Kentucky on June 4, 1792.

Here is a chronological list of the governors of Kentucky from First to last.

No.	Governor	Term in Office	Party
1	Isaac Shelby	June 4, 1792 – June 1, 1796	Democratic-Republican
2	James Garrard	June 1, 1796 – Sep 5, 1804	Democratic-Republican
3	Christopher Greenup	Sep 5, 1804 – Aug 23, 1808	Democratic-Republican
4	Charles Scott	Aug 23, 1808 – Aug 24, 1812	Democratic-Republican
5	Isaac Shelby	Aug 24, 1812 – Sep 5, 1816	Democratic-Republican
6	George Madison	Sep 5, 1816 – Oct 14, 1816	Democratic-Republican
7	Gabriel Slaughter	Oct 14, 1816 – Sep 7, 1820	Democratic-Republican
8	John Adair	Sep 7, 1820 – Aug 24, 1824	Democratic-Republican
9	Joseph Desha	Aug 24, 1824 – Aug 26, 1828	Democratic-Republican
10	Thomas Metcalfe	Aug 26, 1828 – Aug 28, 1832	National Republican
11	John Breathitt	Aug 28, 1832 – Feb 21, 1834	Democratic
12	James Turner Morehead	Feb 21, 1834 – Aug 30, 1836	National Republican
13	James Clark	Aug 30, 1836 – Aug 27, 1839	Whig
14	Charles A. Wickliffe	Aug 27, 1839 – Sep 2, 1840	Whig
15	Robert P. Letcher	Sep 2, 1840 – Sep 4, 1844	Whig
16	William Owsley	Sep 4, 1844 – Sep 6, 1848	Whig
17	John J. Crittenden	Sep 6, 1848 – Jul 30, 1850	Whig
18	John L. Helm	Jul 30, 1850 – Sep 2, 1851	Whig
19	Lazarus W. Powell	Sep 2, 1851 – Sep 4, 1855	Democratic
20	Charles S. Morehead	Sep 4, 1855 – Aug 30, 1859	American
21	Beriah Magoffin	Aug 30, 1859 – Aug 18, 1862	Democratic
22	James Fisher Robinson	Aug 18, 1862 – Sep 1, 1863	Democratic
23	Thomas E. Bramlette	Sep 1, 1863 – Sep 3, 1867	Union Democratic
24	John L. Helm	Sep 3, 1867 – Sep 8, 1867	Democratic
25	John W. Stevenson	Sep 8, 1867 – Feb 13, 1871	Democratic
26	Preston Leslie	Feb 13, 1871 – Aug 31, 1875	Democratic
27	James B. McCreary	Aug 31, 1875 – Sep 2, 1879	Democratic
28	Luke P. Blackburn	Sep 2, 1879 – Sep 4, 1883	Democratic
29	J. Proctor Knott	Sep 4, 1883 – Aug 30, 1887	Democratic
30	Simon Bolivar Buckner	Aug 30, 1887 – Sep 1, 1891	Democratic
31	John Y. Brown	Sep 1, 1891 – Dec 10, 1895	Democratic
32	William O’Connell Bradley	Dec 10, 1895 – Dec 12, 1899	Republican
33	William S. Taylor	Dec 12, 1899 – Jan 31, 1900	Republican
34	William Goebel	Jan 31, 1900 – Feb 3, 1900	Democratic
35	J. C. W. Beckham	Feb 3, 1900 – Dec 10, 1907	Democratic
36	Augustus E. Willson	Dec 10, 1907 – Dec 12, 1911	Republican
37	James B. McCreary	Dec 12, 1911 – Dec 7, 1915	Democratic
38	Augustus Owsley Stanley	Dec 7, 1915 – May 19, 1919	Democratic
39	James D. Black	May 19, 1919 – Dec 9, 1919	Democratic
40	Edwin P. Morrow	Dec 9, 1919 – Dec 11, 1923	Republican
41	William J. Fields	Dec 11, 1923 – Dec 13, 1927	Democratic
42	Flem D. Sampson	Dec 13, 1927 – Dec 8, 1931	Republican
43	Ruby Laffoon	Dec 8, 1931 – Dec 10, 1935	Democratic
44	Happy Chandler	Dec 10, 1935 – Oct 9, 1939	Democratic
45	Keen Johnson	Oct 9, 1939 – Dec 7, 1943	Democratic
46	Simeon Willis	Dec 7, 1943 – Dec 9, 1947	Republican
47	Earle Clements	Dec 9, 1947 – Nov 27, 1950	Democratic
48	Lawrence Wetherby	Nov 27, 1950 – Dec 13, 1955	Democratic
49	Happy Chandler	Dec 13, 1955 – Dec 8, 1959	Democratic
50	Bert Combs	Dec 8, 1959 – Dec 10, 1963	Democratic
51	Ned Breathitt	Dec 10, 1963 – Dec 12, 1967	Democratic
52	Louie Nunn	Dec 12, 1967 – Dec 7, 1971	Republican
53	Wendell Ford	Dec 7, 1971 – Dec 28, 1974	Democratic
54	Julian Carroll	Dec 28, 1974 – Dec 11, 1979	Democratic
55	John Y. Brown Jr.	Dec 11, 1979 – Dec 13, 1983	Democratic
56	Martha Layne Collins	Dec 13, 1983 – Dec 8, 1987	Democratic
57	Wallace Wilkinson	Dec 8, 1987 – Dec 10, 1991	Democratic
58	Brereton C. Jones	Dec 10, 1991 – Dec 12, 1995	Democratic
59	Paul E. Patton	Dec 12, 1995 – Dec 9, 2003	Democratic
60	Ernie Fletcher	Dec 9, 2003 – Dec 11, 2007	Republican
61	Steve Beshear	Dec 11, 2007 – Dec 8, 2015	Democratic
62	Matt Bevin	Dec 8, 2015 – Dec 10, 2019	Republican
63	Andy Beshear	Dec 10, 2019 – Incumbent	Democratic