The following is a 'list of Governors of the State of
Connecticut', from the Colonial period through present day.
Governors of the Colony of Connecticut, 1639-1662
The colony was initially formed from the towns of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield. Between 1639 and 1655, consecutive terms were not allowed, so the governorship rotated between
John Haynes and
Edward Hopkins each year, except for 1642 when
George Wyllys served.
★
John Haynes 1639-1640
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Edward Hopkins 1640-1641
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John Haynes 1641-1642
★
George Wyllys 1642-1643
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John Haynes 1643-1644
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Edward Hopkins 1644-1645
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John Haynes 1645-1646
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Edward Hopkins 1646-1647
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John Haynes 1647-1648
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Edward Hopkins 1648-1649
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John Haynes 1649-1650
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Edward Hopkins 1650-1651
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John Haynes 1651-1652
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Edward Hopkins 1652-1653
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John Haynes 1653-1654
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Edward Hopkins 1654-1655
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Thomas Welles 1655-1656
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John Webster 1656-1657
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John Winthrop, Jr. 1657-1658
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Thomas Welles 1658-1659
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John Winthrop, Jr. 1659-1662
Governors of the Colony of New Haven, 1639-1665
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Theophilus Eaton 1639-1658
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Francis Newman 1658-1660
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William Leete 1661-1665 (when the Colony of Connecticut and the Colony of New Haven, merged by Royal Charter in 1662, became one government)
Governors of the Colony of Connecticut, 1662-1776
★
John Winthrop, Jr. 1662-1676
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William Leete 1676-1683
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Robert Treat 1683-1687
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Sir Edmond Andros 1687-1689 ''as part of the
Dominion of New England''
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Robert Treat 1689-1698
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Fitz-John Winthrop 1698-1707
★
Gurdon Saltonstall 1708-1724
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Joseph Talcott 1724-1741
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Jonathan Law 1741-1750
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Roger Wolcott 1750-1754
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Thomas Fitch 1754-1766
★
William Pitkin 1766-1769
★
Jonathan Trumbull 1769-1776
Governors of the State of Connecticut, 1776-present
Notes
1. Lost election, but was appointed by state legislature.
2. Resigned to be Ambassador to Russia.
3. Morgan Bulkeley was technically unelected from 1890 on. He did not run for re-election in 1890, but due to such a close contest and controversies, the results were not certified, and the legislature spent two years debating the issue; Bulkeley essentially served as governor by default.
4. Resigned to become United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
5. Resigned due to ovarian cancer.
6. Resigned during a corruption investigation; he later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.
7. Governor Rell's term expires in 2011; she is not yet term limited.
Other high offices held
This is a table of congressional and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Connecticut.
★ denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.
| Name | Gubernatorial term | U.S. Congress | Other offices held |
|---|
| House | Senate |
|---|
| Samuel Huntington | 1786–1796 | | | Continental Delegate (including President of the Continental Congress) |
| Oliver Wolcott | 1796–1797 | | | Continental Delegate |
| Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. | 1797–1809 | H | S | Speaker of the House |
| John Treadwell | 1809–1811 | | | Continental Delegate |
| Roger Griswold | 1811–1812 | H | | |
| John Cotton Smith | 1812–1817 | H | | |
| Oliver Wolcott, Jr. | 1817–1827 | | | U.S. Secretary of the Treasury |
| Gideon Tomlinson | 1827–1831 | H | S ★ | |
| Henry W. Edwards | 1833–1834, 1835–1838 | H | S | |
| Samuel A. Foot | 1834–1835 | H | S | |
| William W. Ellsworth | 1838–1842 | H | | |
| Chauncey Fitch Cleveland | 1842–1843 | H | | |
| Roger Sherman Baldwin | 1844–1846 | | S ★ | |
| Isaac Toucey | 1846–1847 | H | S | U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Secretary of the Navy |
| Joseph Trumbull | 1849–1850 | H | | |
| Thomas Hart Seymour | 1850–1853 | H | | Ambassador to Russia ★ |
| William A. Buckingham | 1858–1866 | | S | |
| Joseph R. Hawley | 1866–1867 | H | S | |
| James E. English | 1867–1869, 1870–1871 | H | S | |
| Marshall Jewell | 1869–1870, 1871–1873 | | | Ambassador to Russia, U.S. Postmaster General |
| Richard D. Hubbard | 1878-1879 | H | | |
| Morgan G. Bulkeley | 1889–1893 | | S | |
| George P. McLean | 1901–1903 | | S | |
| George L. Lilley | 1901 | H | | |
| Hiram Bingham III | 1925 | | S | |
| Raymond E. Baldwin | 1939–1941, 1943–1946 | | S | |
| Chester Bowles | 1949–1951 | H | | |
| John Davis Lodge | 1951–1955 | H | | Ambassador to Spain, Ambassador to Argentina, Ambassador to Switzerland |
| Abraham A. Ribicoff | 1955–1961 | H | S | U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare ★ |
| Thomas J. Meskill | 1971–1975 | H | | Second Circuit Court Judge |
| Ella T. Grasso | 1975–1980 | H | | |
| Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. | 1991–1995 | H | S | |
| John G. Rowland | 1995–2004 | H | | |
Living former governors
As of August 2007, four former governors were alive, the oldest being
Thomas Joseph Meskill (1971–1975, born 1928). The most recent governor to die was
Abraham A. Ribicoff (1955–1961), on
February 22 1998. The most recently-serving governor to die was
Ella T. Grasso (1975–1980), on
February 5 1981.