List of colonial governors of Massachusetts
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This is a list of the colonial governors of Massachusetts up to 1776, including governors of the Plymouth Colony, governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, presidents of the Dominion of New England, and royal governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Contents |
[edit] Plymouth Colony: 1620 – 1691
This is a list of Governors of the Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1691. The colony was incorporated by charter into the Province of Massachusetts Bay on October 7, 1691, although the General Court of the Plymouth Colony remained in effective government until June 1692.
| Governor | Took Office | Left Office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Carver | 1620 | 1621 | |
| William Bradford | 1621 | 1633 | |
| Edward Winslow |  |
1633 | 1634 |
| Thomas Prence | 1634 | 1635 | |
| William Bradford | 1635 | 1636 | |
| Edward Winslow | |
1636 | 1637 |
| William Bradford | 1637 | 1638 | |
| Thomas Prence | 1638 | 1639 | |
| William Bradford | 1639 | 1644 | |
| Edward Winslow | |
1644 | 1645 |
| William Bradford | 1645 | May 1657 | |
| Thomas Prence | June 1657 | 1673 | |
| Josiah Winslow |  |
1673 | 1680 |
| Thomas Hinckley | 1680 | 1686 | |
| Dominion of New England |  |
1686 | 1689 |
| Thomas Hinckley | 1689 | 1692 | |
[edit] Governor-General of New England (at Weymouth Colony): 1623–1624
In 1623, a Governor-General was commissioned by King Charles I to oversee Plymouth, Wessagusset/Weymouth, and future New England colonies. Gorges left office after less than a year and was not replaced.
| Governor | Took Office | Left Office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Gorges | 1623 | 1624 | |
[edit] Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1629 – 1686
This is a list of Governers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1629 to 1686:
| Governor | Took Office | Left Office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Cradock | 1629 | 1629 | |
| John Endicott |  |
1629 | 1630 |
| John Winthrop |  |
1630 | 1633 |
| Thomas Dudley |  |
1634 | 1634 |
| John Haynes |  |
1635 | 1635 |
| Henry Vane the Younger |  |
1636 | 1636 |
| John Winthrop | |
1637 | 1639 |
| Thomas Dudley | |
1640 | 1640 |
| Richard Bellingham |  |
1641 | 1641 |
| John Winthrop | |
1642 | 1643 |
| John Endicott | |
1644 | 1644 |
| Thomas Dudley | |
1645 | 1645 |
| John Winthrop | |
1646 | 1648 |
| John Endicott | |
1649 | 1649 |
| Thomas Dudley | |
1650 | 1650 |
| John Endicott | |
1651 | 1653 |
| Richard Bellingham | |
1654 | 1654 |
| John Endicott | |
1655 | 1664 |
| Richard Bellingham | |
1665 | 1672 |
| John Leverett |  |
1673 | 1678 |
| Simon Bradstreet |  |
1679 | 1686 |
[edit] Dominion of New England : 1686 – 1689
This is a list of Presidents of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689:
| President | Year(s) | Lieutenant Governor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Dudley |  |
May 25, 1686 - December 20, 1686 | William Stoughton (May 26, 1686 - December 20, 1686) |
| Edmund Andros |  |
December 20, 1686 – April 18, 1689 | Francis Nicholson (July 19, 1688 - April 18, 1689) |
When the Dominion was dissolved in 1689, Simon Bradstreet served as Governor of Massachusetts (from May 24, 1689 to May 14, 1692) until William Phips arrived as Royal Governor in 1692.
[edit] Province of Massachusetts Bay: 1692 – 1774
This is a list of Royal Governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay:
| Governor | Took office | Left office | Lieutenant Governor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Phips |  |
May 16, 1692 | November 17, 1694 | William Stoughton (May 16, 1692 - July 7, 1701) |
| William Stoughton (acting) |
 |
December 4, 1694 | May 26, 1699 | |
| Richard Coote | May 26, 1699 | July 17, 1700 | ||
| William Stoughton (acting) |
|
July 22, 1700 | July 7, 1701 | |
| Governor's Council (acting) |
 |
July 10, 1701 | June 7, 1702 | |
| Joseph Dudley | |
June 11, 1702 | February 4, 1715 | Thomas Povey (June 11, 1702 - ca. January 28, 1706) |
| William Tailer (October 11, 1704 - February 4, 1715) |
||||
| Governor's Council (acting) |
|
February 4, 1715 | March 21, 1715 | |
| Joseph Dudley | |
March 21, 1715 | November 9, 1715 | William Tailer (March 21, 1715 - October 5, 1716) |
| William Tailer (acting) |
November 9, 1715 | October 5, 1716 | ||
| Samuel Shute | October 5, 1716 | January 1, 1723 | William Dummer (October 5, 1716 - June 11, 1730) |
|
| William Dummer (acting) |
 |
January 2, 1723 | July 19, 1728 | |
| William Burnet |  |
July 19, 1728 | September 7, 1729 | |
| William Dummer (acting) |
|
September 10, 1729 | June 11, 1730 | |
| William Tailer (acting) |
June 11, 1730 | August 10, 1730 | ||
| Jonathan Belcher |  |
August 10, 1730 | August 14, 1741 | Spencer Phips (August 8, 1732 - April 4, 1757) |
| William Shirley |  |
August 14, 1741 | September 11, 1749 | |
| Spencer Phips (acting) |
September 15, 1749 | August 7, 1753 | ||
| William Shirley | |
August 7, 1753 | September 25, 1756 | |
| Spencer Phips (acting) |
September 25, 1756 | April 4, 1757 | ||
| Governor's Council (acting) |
|
April 5, 1757 | August 3, 1757 | |
| Thomas Pownall |  |
August 3, 1757 | June 3, 1760 | Thomas Hutchinson (June 1, 1758 - March 14, 1771) |
| Thomas Hutchinson (acting) |
June 3, 1760 | August 2, 1760 | ||
| Francis Bernard | August 2, 1760 | August 1, 1769 | ||
| Thomas Hutchinson (acting, August 2, 1769 - March 14, 1771) |
August 2, 1769 | May 13, 1774 | Andrew Oliver (March 14, 1771 - March 3, 1774) |
|
| Thomas Gage (Military) |  |
May 13, 1774 | October 11, 1775 | Thomas Oliver (August 8, 1774 - 1775) |
| William Howe (Military) |  |
October 11, 1775 | March 17, 1776 | |
Between 1774 and 1780, as Massachusetts moved toward and then helped lead the American Revolution, and until a new Constitution could be drafted, there was no stable civilian government. In exile in England, Thomas Hutchinson, until his death, was still considered as the civilian Governor of the colony by the British government of Lord North.
For later governors of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, see List of Governors of Massachusetts.
