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 Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

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 Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor."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 Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...

, 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 (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 a ...

(1608) *President of the Council John Smith (1608–1609) *President of the Council George Percy (1609–1610) *Governor

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He was ...

(1609–1618, sometimes absentee) **Deputy Governor

Sir Thomas Gates Sir Thomas Gates (floruit, fl.?–1622), was List of colonial governors of Virginia, the governor of Jamestown, Virginia, Jamestown, in the English colony of Virginia Colony, Virginia (now the Commonwealth of Virginia, part of the United States ...

(May–June 1610) **Deputy Governor George Percy (March–May 1611) **Acting Governor Sir Thomas Dale (May–August 1611) **Acting Governor

(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 Sir Francis Wyatt (1588–1644) was an English nobleman, knight, politician, and government official. He was the first English royal governor of Virginia. He sailed for America on 1 August 1621 on board the ''George''. He became governor short ...

(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 A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

. 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 deat ...

, 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

(1624–1626) *Governor Sir George Yeardley (1626–1627) *Acting Governor Francis West (1627–1629) *Governor Sir John Harvey (1628–1639) **Acting Governor

John Pott John Potts (or Pott) was a physician and Colonial Governor of Virginia at the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia Colony in the early 17th century. Biography John Potts is said to have taken his degree of M.A., at Oxford University in 1605. H ...

(1629–1630) **Acting Governor John West (1635–1636) **Acting Governor Col.

George Reade George Reade (1687 – 28 March 1756), of Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, was a British Army officer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1734. Reade was the fourth son of Sir Edward Reade, 2nd Baronet. He ente ...

(1638–1639) *Governor

(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 heavi ...

(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 Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper, (21 March 1635 – 27 January 1689) was an English peer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Virginia from 1677 to 1683. Biography Born in 1635, Colepeper (often referred to by the alt ...

(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 Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

(1692–1698) *Governor George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney (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 Robert Hunter (1666–1734) was a British military officer, colonial governor of New York and New Jersey from 1710 to 1720, and governor of Jamaica from 1727 to 1734. Biography Hunter was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1666, grandson of the ...

(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 f ...

(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 Beverley Robinson (11 January 1721 – 9 April 1792), was a Virginia-born soldier who became a wealthy colonist of the Province of New York and is best known as a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War. Robinson married Susanna Philipse ...

(1721–1792) **Acting Governor Thomas Lee (1749–1750) **Acting Governor Lewis Burwell I/II (1750–1751) **Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie (1751–1756) *Governor John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun (1756–1759) **Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie (1756–January 1758) **Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier (1758–1768) *Governor Jeffery Amherst (1759–1768, absentee) **Acting Governor John Blair, Sr. (1768) *Governor Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1768–1770) *Acting Governor William Nelson (1770–1771) *Governor

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), known as Lord Dunmore, was a British nobleman and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last colonial governor of Virginia. Lord Dunmore was nam ...

(1771–June 1775)

References