| Colonial Period - Up to 1692 |
Until 1692, the area now known as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was home to two colonies, Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
Chosen annually under the first Royal Charter
| 1629 |
Matthew Craddock |
| 1629 |
John Endicott |
| 1629 - 1634 |
John Winthrop |
| 1634 - 1635 |
Thomas Dudley |
| 1635 - 1636 |
John Haynes |
| 1636 - 1637 |
Henry Vane |
| 1637 - 1640 |
John Winthrop |
| 1640 - 1641 |
Thomas Dudley |
| 1641 - 1642 |
Richard Bellingham |
| 1642 - 1644 |
John Winthrop |
| 1644 - 1645 |
John Endicott |
| 1645 - 1646 |
Thomas Dudley |
| 1646 - 1649 |
John Winthrop |
| 1649 - 1650 |
John Endicott |
| 1650 - 1651 |
Thomas Dudley |
| 1651 - 1654 |
John Endicott |
| 1654 - 1655 |
Richard Bellingham |
| 1655 - 1665 |
John Endicott |
| 1665 - 1672 |
Richard Bellingham |
| 1673 |
John Leverett (acting) |
| 1673 - 1679 |
John Leverett |
| 1679 - 1686 |
Simon Bradstreet |
Governors of Plymouth Colony,
Chosen annually by the People
| 1620 - 1621 |
John Carver |
| 1621 - 1633 |
William Bradford |
| 1633 - 1634 |
Edward Winslow |
| 1634 - 1635 |
Thomas Prence |
| 1635 - 1636 |
William Bradford |
| 1636 - 1637 |
Edward Winslow |
| 1637 - 1638 |
William Bradford |
| 1638 - 1639 |
Thomas Prence |
| 1639 - 1644 |
William Bradford |
| 1644 - 1645 |
Edward Winslow |
| 1645 - 1657 |
William Bradford |
| 1657 - 1673 |
Thomas Prence |
| 1673 - 1680 |
Josiah Winslow |
1680 - 1686
1689 - 1692 |
Thomas Hinckley* |
*Hinckley was Governor until the union of the colonies in 1692, except during the administration of Andros.
The Inter-Charter Period
| 1686 |
Joseph Dudley named President of New England under a commission by King James II |
| 1686 - 1689 |
Edmund Andros appointed Governor of New England by King James II (deposed by people) |
| 1689 - 1692 |
Simon Bradstreet |
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| Colonial Period - 1692-1774 |
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Governors of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay
Territories including the Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony and Maine
Appointed by the King Under the Second Royal Charter
| 1692 - 1694 |
Sir William Phips |
| 1694 - 1699 |
William Stoughton (acting) |
| 1699 - 1700 |
Richard Coote |
| 1700 - 1701 |
William Stoughton (acting) |
| 1701 - 1702 |
The Council |
| 1702 - 1715 |
Joseph Dudley |
| 1715 |
The Council |
| 1715 |
Joseph Dudley |
| 1715 - 1716 |
William Tailer** (acting) |
| 1716 - 1723 |
Samuel Shute |
| 1723 - 1728 |
William Dummer (acting) |
| 1728 - 1729 |
William Burnet |
| 1729 - 1730 |
William Dummer (acting) |
| 1730 |
William Tailer (acting) |
| 1730 - 1741 |
Jonathan Belcher |
| 1741 - 1749 |
William Shirley |
| 1749 - 1753 |
Spencer Phips (acting) |
| 1753 - 1756 |
William Shirley |
| 1756 - 1757 |
Spencer Phips (acting) |
| 1757 - 1757 |
The Council |
| 1757 - 1760 |
Thomas Pownell |
| 1760 |
Thomas Hutchinson (acting) |
| 1760 - 1769 |
Francis Bernard |
| 1769 - 1771 |
Thomas Hutchinson (acting) |
| 1771 - 1774 |
Thomas Hutchinson |
| 1774 |
Thomas Gage |
**On Nov. 9, 1715 Elizeus Burgess was proclaimed Governor, he having been commissioned on March 17, 1715, but he never came over to perform his duties, and resigned the office in April, 1716.
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| Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1780-1896 |
| 1780 - 1785 |
John Hancock |
| 1785 - 1787 |
James Bowdoin |
| 1787 - 1793 |
John Hancock |
| 1794 - 1797 |
Samuel Adams |
| 1797 - 1799 |
Increase Sumner |
| 1799 - 1800 |
Goverment of Massachusetts presided over by a council under the direction of Thomas Dawes. |
| 1800 - 1807 |
Caleb Strong |
| 1807 - 1808 |
James Sullivan |
| 1808 - 1809 |
Levi Lincoln |
| 1809 - 1810 |
Christopher Gore |
| 1810 - 1812 |
Elbridge Gerry |
| 1812 - 1816 |
Caleb Strong |
| 1816 - 1823 |
John Brooks |
| 1823 - 1825 |
William Eustis |
| 1825 |
Marcus Morton |
| 1825 - 1834 |
Levi Lincoln, Jr. |
| 1834 - 1835 |
John Davis |
| 1835 - 1836 |
Armstrong, Samuel Turrell |
| 1836 - 1840 |
Edward Everett |
| 1840 - 1841 |
Marcus Morton |
| 1841 - 1843 |
John Davis |
| 1843 - 1844 |
Marcus Morton |
| 1844 - 1851 |
George N. Briggs |
| 1851 - 1853 |
George S. Boutwell |
| 1853 - 1854 |
John H. Clifford |
| 1854 - 1855 |
Emory Washburn |
| 1855 - 1858 |
Henry J. Gardner |
| 1858 - 1861 |
Nathaniel P. Banks |
| 1861 - 1866 |
John A. Andrew |
| 1866 - 1869 |
Alexander H. Bullock |
| 1869 - 1872 |
William Claflin |
| 1872 - 1874 |
William B. Washburn |
| 1874 - 1875 |
Thomas Talbot |
| 1875 - 1876 |
William Gaston |
| 1876 - 1879 |
Alexander H. Rice |
| 1879 - 1880 |
Thomas Talbot |
| 1880 - 1883 |
John Davis Long |
| 1883 - 1884 |
Benjamin F. Butler |
| 1884 - 1887 |
George D. Robinson |
| 1887 - 1890 |
Oliver Ames |
| 1890 - 1891 |
John Q. A. Brackett |
| 1891 - 1894 |
William E. Russell |
| 1894 - 1896 |
Frederick T. Greenhalge |
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| Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1897-present |
| 1897 - 1900 |
Roger Wolcot |
| 1900 - 1903 |
Winthrop Murray Crane |
| 1903 - 1905 |
John L. Bates |
| 1905 - 1906 |
William L. Douglas |
| 1906 - 1909 |
Curtis Guild Jr. |
| 1909 - 1911 |
Ebenezer S. Draper |
| 1911 - 1914 |
Eugene N. Foss |
| 1914 - 1916 |
David I. Walsh |
| 1916 - 1919 |
Samuel W. McCall |
| 1919 - 1921 |
Calvin Coolidge |
| 1921 - 1925 |
Channing H. Cox |
| 1925 - 1929 |
Alvan T. Fuller |
| 1929 - 1931 |
Frank G. Allen |
| 1931 - 1935 |
Joseph B. Ely |
| 1935 - 1937 |
James M. Curley |
| 1937 - 1939 |
Charles F. Hurley |
| 1939 - 1945 |
Leverett Saltonstall |
| 1945 - 1947 |
Maurice J. Tobin |
| 1947 - 1949 |
Robert F. Bradford |
| 1949 - 1953 |
Paul A. Dever |
| 1953 - 1957 |
Christian A. Herter |
| 1957 - 1961 |
Foster Furcolo |
| 1961 - 1963 |
John A. Volpe |
| 1963 - 1965 |
Endicott Peabody |
| 1965 - 1969 |
John A. Volpe |
| 1971 - 1975 |
Francis W. Sargent |
| 1975 - 1979 |
Michael S. Dukakis |
| 1979 - 1983 |
Edward J. King |
| 1983 - 1990 |
Michael S. Dukakis |
| 1991 - 1997 |
William F. Weld |
| 1997 - 2001 |
Argeo Paul Cellucci |
| 2001 - 2002 |
Jane Swift |
| 2003 - 2007 |
W. Mitt Romney |
| 2007 - |
Deval L. Patrick |
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| Alphabetical List of Governors |
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(includes biographic information) 