List of Leaders of America

Here is the list of American leaders from colonial governors of Virginia to presidents of United States

Governor of Virginia (1585–1590)[change]

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, 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)[change]

President of the Council Edward Maria Wingfield (1607)
President of the Council John Ratcliffe (1608) (real name "Capt. John Sicklemore"(?))
Matthew Scrivener (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 (1609–1618, sometimes absentee)
- Deputy Governor Sir Thomas Gates (May–June 1610)
- Deputy Governor George Percy (March–May 1611)
- Acting Governor Sir Thomas Dale (May–August 1611)
- Acting Governor Sir Thomas Gates (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 (1621–1624)

Crown Governors (1624–1652)[change]

Governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1624–1626)
Governor Sir George Yeardley (1626–1627)
Acting Governor Francis West (1627–1629)
Governor Sir John Harvey (1628–1639)
- Acting Governor John Pott (1629–1630)
- Acting Governor John West (1635–1636)
- Acting Governor Col. George Reade (1638–1639)
Governor Sir Francis Wyatt (1639–1642)
Governor Sir William Berkeley (1642–1652)
- Acting Governor Sir Richard Kemp (1644–1645)

Commonwealth and Protectorate Governors (1652–1660)[change]

Governor Richard Bennett (1652–1655)
Governor Edward Digges (1655–1656)
Governor Lt. Col. Samuel Mathews of Mathews County, Virginia (1656–1660, died in office)

Crown Governors (1660–1775)[change]

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 (1677–1683)
- Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Chicheley (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 (1692–1698)
Governor George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney (1698–1737, absentee)
- Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson (1698–1705)
- Lieutenant Governor Col. Edward Nott (1705–1706)
- Acting Governor Edmund Jenings (1706–1710)
- Lieutenant Governor General Robert Hunter (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 (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 {Acting Governor} August 1749; father of Speaker of the VA House of Burgess John Robinson (Virginia politician) Jr (1705–1766) and Colonel Beverley Robinson (1721–1792)
- Acting Governor Thomas Lee (1749–1750)
- Acting Governor Lewis Burwell (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 (1771–June 1775)

president of the United States in Congress Assembled[change]

Terms and backgrounds of the 14 men who served as president of the Continental Congress

Portrait	Name	State/colony	Term	Length	Previous position
Peyton Randolph	Randolph, PeytonPeyton Randolph (1721–1775)	Virginia	September 5, 1774 – October 22, 1774	47 days	Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses
Henry Middleton	Middleton, HenryHenry Middleton (1717–1784)	South Carolina	October 22, 1774 – October 26, 1774	4 days	Speaker, S.C. Commons House of Assembly
Peyton Randolph	Randolph, PeytonPeyton Randolph (1721–1775)	Virginia	May 10, 1775 – May 24, 1775	14 days	Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses
John Hancock	Hancock, JohnJohn Hancock (1737–1793)	Massachusetts	May 24, 1775 – October 29, 1777	2 years, 158 days	President, Massachusetts Provincial Congress
Henry Laurens	Laurens, HenryHenry Laurens (1724–1792)	South Carolina	November 1, 1777 – December 9, 1778	1 year, 38 days	President, S.C. Provincial Congress, Vice President, S.C.
John Jay	Jay, JohnJohn Jay (1745–1829)	New York	December 10, 1778 – September 28, 1779	292 days	Chief Justice New York Supreme Court
Samuel Huntington	Huntington, SamuelSamuel Huntington (1731–1796)	Connecticut	September 28, 1779 – July 10, 1781	1 year, 285 days	Associate Judge, Connecticut Superior Court
Thomas McKean	McKean, ThomasThomas McKean (1734–1817)	Delaware	July 10, 1781 – November 5, 1781	118 days	Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
John Hanson	Hanson, JohnJohn Hanson (1721–1783)	Maryland	November 5, 1781 – November 4, 1782	364 days	Maryland House of Delegates
Elias Boudinot	Boudinot, EliasElias Boudinot (1740–1821)	New Jersey	November 4, 1782 – November 3, 1783	364 days	Commissary of Prisoners for the Continental Army
Thomas Mifflin	Mifflin, ThomasThomas Mifflin (1744–1800)	Pennsylvania	November 3, 1783 – June 3, 1784	213 days	Quartermaster General of Continental Army, Board of War
Richard Henry Lee	Lee, RichardRichard Henry Lee (1732–1794)	Virginia	November 30, 1784 – November 4, 1785	339 days	Virginia House of Burgesses
John Hancock	Hancock, JohnJohn Hancock (1737–1793)	Massachusetts	November 23, 1785 – June 5, 1786	194 days	Governor of Massachusetts
Nathaniel Gorham	Gorham, NathanielNathaniel Gorham (1738–1796)	Massachusetts	June 6, 1786 – February 2, 1787	241 days	Board of War
Arthur St. Clair	St.Clair, ArthurArthur St. Clair (1737–1818)	Pennsylvania	February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787	275 days	Major General, Continental Army
Cyrus Griffin	Griffin, CyrusCyrus Griffin (1748–1810)	Virginia	January 22, 1788 – November 2, 1788	298 days	Judge, Virginia Court of Appeals