From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a
list of colonial governors of Virginia
.
Some of those who held the lead role as governor of
Virginia
never visited the
New World
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 usually delegated responsibilities to others. Probably for those reasons, in many historical documents and references, the deputies and lieutenant governors who had the primary responsibility in Virginia are also often titled simply "governor."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
routinely took several months and occasionally, much longer. Thus, dates may appear to overlap.
Governor of Virginia (1585?1590)
[
edit
]
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.
Virginia Company of London Governors (1607?1624)
[
edit
]
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.
Crown Governors (1624?1652)
[
edit
]
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
. Governors were appointed by the ruling monarch to oversee the interests of the Crown. During the
interregnum
period (1649?1660), when England came under
commonwealth rule
and the
protectorate rule
of
Oliver
and
Richard Cromwell
, 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.
Commonwealth and Protectorate Governors (1652?1660)
[
edit
]
Crown Governors (1660?1775)
[
edit
]
- Governor
Sir William Berkeley
(1660?1677)
- Governor Col.
Herbert Jeffreys
(1677?1678)
- Governor
Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway
(1677?1683)
- Acting Governor Col.
Nicholas Spencer
(September 1683?April 1684)
[1]
[2]
- Governor
Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham
(1684?1692, absentee from 1688)
- Governor
Sir Edmund Andros
(1692?1698)
- Governor
George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney
(1698?1737, absentee)
- Governor
Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle
(1737?1754, absentee)
- Governor
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
(1756?1759)
- Governor
Jeffery Amherst
(1759?1768, absentee)
- Governor
Norborne Berkeley
,
Baron de Botetourt
(1768?1770)
- Acting Governor
William Nelson
(1770?1771)
- Governor
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore
(1771?June 1775)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]