List of Governors of Rhode Island

This article is about governors of the state of Rhode Island. For a list of colonial governors of Rhode Island, see List of colonial governors of Rhode Island.

Governor of Rhode Island
Seal of the Governor
Flag of the Governor
Incumbent Lincoln Chafee since January 4, 2011
Style	The Honorable or His Excellency
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Nicholas Cooke; 1775
Formation	Constitution of Rhode Island
Succession	Every four years, unless re-elected.

Party affiliation

Number of Governors of Rhode Island by party affiliation

Party	Governors
Republican	32
Democratic	21
Democratic-Republican	4
Whig	4
Country	3
No Affiliation	3
Law and Order	2
Dorr Rebellion	1
Federalist	1
Know Nothing	1
Rhode Island Party	1
Independent	1

Colonial Rhode Island 1640-1775

Further information: List of colonial governors of Rhode Island

List of Rhode Island Governors 1775-present

#	Name	Picture	Party	Took office	Left office	Notes
1	Nicholas Cooke		None	November 7, 1775	May 4, 1778
2	William Greene		None	May 4, 1778	May 3, 1786
3	John Collins		None	May 3, 1786	May 5, 1790
4	Arthur Fenner		Country Party	May 5, 1790	October 15, 1805
5	Henry Smith		Country	October 15, 1805	May 7, 1806
6	Isaac Wilbour		Country	May 7, 1806	May 6, 1807
7	James Fenner		Democratic-Republican	May 6, 1807	May 1, 1811
8	William Jones		Federalist	May 1, 1811	May 7, 1817
9	Nehemiah R. Knight		Democratic-Republican	May 7, 1817	May 2, 1821
10	William C. Gibbs		Democratic-Republican	May 2, 1821	May 5, 1824
11	James Fenner		Democratic-Republican	May 5, 1824	May 4, 1831
12	Lemuel H. Arnold		Whig	May 4, 1831	May 1, 1833
13	John B. Francis		Democratic	May 1, 1833	May 2, 1838
14	William Sprague III		Democratic	May 2, 1838	May 2, 1839
15	Samuel Ward King		Rhode Island Party	May 2, 1839	May 2, 1843
16	Thomas Dorr		extralegal, Dorr Rebellion	May 1, 1842	January 23, 1843
17	James Fenner		Law and Order	May 2, 1843	May 6, 1845
18	Charles Jackson		Know Nothing	May 6, 1845	May 6, 1846
19	Byron Diman		Law and Order	May 6, 1846	May 4, 1847
20	Elisha Harris		Whig	May 4, 1847	May 1, 1849
21	Henry B. Anthony		Whig	May 1, 1849	May 6, 1851
22	Philip Allen		Democratic	May 6, 1851	July 20, 1853
23	Francis M. Dimond		Democratic	July 20, 1853	May 2, 1854
24	William W. Hoppin		Whig	May 2, 1854	May 26, 1857
25	Elisha Dyer		Republican	May 26, 1857	May 31, 1859
26	Thomas G. Turner		Republican	May 31, 1859	May 29, 1860
27	William Sprague IV		Republican	May 29, 1860	March 3, 1863
28	William C. Cozzens		Democratic	March 3, 1863	May 26, 1863
29	James Y. Smith		Republican	May 26, 1863	May 29, 1866
30	Ambrose Everett Burnside		Republican	May 29, 1866	May 25, 1869
31	Seth Padelford		Republican	May 25, 1869	May 27, 1873
32	Henry Howard		Republican	May 27, 1873	May 25, 1875
33	Henry Lippitt		Republican	May 25, 1875	May 29, 1877
34	Charles C. Van Zandt		Republican	May 29, 1877	May 25, 1880
35	Alfred H. Littlefield		Republican	May 25, 1880	May 29, 1883
36	Augustus O. Bourn		Republican	May 29, 1883	May 26, 1885
37	George P. Wetmore		Republican	May 26, 1885	May 29, 1887
38	John W. Davis		Democratic	May 29, 1887	May 29, 1888
39	Royal C. Taft		Republican	May 29, 1888	May 28, 1889
40	Herbert W. Ladd		Republican	May 28, 1889	May 27, 1890
41	John W. Davis		Democratic	May 27, 1890	May 26, 1891
42	Herbert W. Ladd		Republican	May 26, 1891	May 31, 1892
43	D. Russell Brown		Republican	May 31, 1892	May 29, 1895
44	Charles W. Lippitt		Republican	May 29, 1895	May 25, 1897
45	Elisha Dyer, Jr.		Republican	May 25, 1897	May 29, 1900
46	William Gregory		Republican	May 29, 1900	December 16, 1901
47	Charles D. Kimball		Republican	December 16, 1901	January 3, 1903
48	Lucius F. C. Garvin		Democratic	January 3, 1903	January 3, 1905
49	George H. Utter		Republican	January 3, 1905	January 1, 1907
50	James H. Higgins		Democratic	January 1, 1907	January 5, 1909
51	Aram J. Pothier		Republican	January 5, 1909	January 5, 1915
52	R. Livingston Beeckman		Republican	January 5, 1915	January 4, 1921
53	Emery J. San Souci		Republican	January 4, 1921	January 2, 1923
54	William S. Flynn		Democratic	January 2, 1923	January 6, 1925
55	Aram J. Pothier		Republican	January 6, 1925	February 4, 1928
56	Norman S. Case		Republican	February 4, 1928	January 3, 1933
57	Theodore Francis Green		Democratic	January 3, 1933	January 5, 1937
58	Robert E. Quinn		Democratic	January 5, 1937	January 3, 1939
59	William Henry Vanderbilt III		Republican	January 3, 1939	January 7, 1941
60	J. Howard McGrath		Democratic	January 7, 1941	October 6, 1945
61	John Orlando Pastore		Democratic	October 6, 1945	December 19, 1950
62	John S. McKiernan		Democratic	December 19, 1950	January 2, 1951
63	Dennis J. Roberts	75px	Democratic	January 2, 1951	January 6, 1959
64	Christopher Del Sesto		Republican	January 6, 1959	January 3, 1961
65	John A. Notte, Jr.	75px	Democratic	January 3, 1961	January 1, 1963
66	John Hubbard Chafee		Republican	January 1, 1963	January 7, 1969
67	Frank Licht	75px	Democratic	January 7, 1969	January 2, 1973
68	Philip W. Noel	75px	Democratic	January 2, 1973	January 4, 1977
69	J. Joseph Garrahy	75px	Democratic	January 4, 1977	January 1, 1985
70	Edward D. DiPrete	75px	Republican	January 1, 1985	January 1, 1991
71	Bruce Sundlun		Democratic	January 1, 1991	January 3, 1995
72	Lincoln C. Almond		Republican	January 3, 1995	January 7, 2003
73	Donald Carcieri		Republican	January 7, 2003	January 4, 2011
74	Lincoln Chafee		Independent	January 4, 2011	Incumbent

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Rhode Island except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Name	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
		House	Senate
Isaac Wilbour	1806–1807	H
James Fenner	1807–1811; 1824–1831; 1843–1845		S
Nehemiah R. Knight	1817–1821		S
Lemuel H. Arnold	1831–1833	H
John Brown Francis	1833–1838		S
William Sprague III	1838–1839	H	S
Henry B. Anthony	1849–1851		S
Philip Allen	1851–1853		S*
William Sprague IV	1860–1863		S
Ambrose Burnside	1866–1869		S
George P. Wetmore	1885–1887		S
George H. Utter	1905–1907	H
Theodore F. Green	1933–1937		S
J. Howard McGrath	1941–1945		S	United States Solicitor General*; United States Attorney General
John O. Pastore	1945–1950		S*
John Chafee	1963–1969		S	United States Secretary of the Navy
Lincoln Chafee	2011–present		S

Living former governors

As of January 2012, four former governors were alive, the oldest being Philip W. Noel (1973–1977, born 1931). The most recent governor to die was J. Joseph Garrahy (1977-1985) who died on January 24, 2012. The most recently-serving governor to die was Bruce Sundlun (1991–1995), on July 21, 2011.

Name	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth
Philip W. Noel	1973–1977	(1931-06-05) June 5, 1931
Edward D. DiPrete	1985–1991	(1934-07-08) July 8, 1934
Lincoln C. Almond	1995–2003	(1936-06-16) June 16, 1936
Donald Carcieri	2003–2011	(1942-12-16) December 16, 1942

See also

• List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island