Governors of Colorado

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GOVERNORS OF COLORADO

This sub-project is part of the larger U.S. Governors Project. Please visit the main project page for details on the goals and objectives of this project.

Link to the Colorado Governors Category Page

The self-proclaimed Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on November 7, 1859, but was never recognized by the federal government. The Jefferson Territory had only one governor, Robert Williamson Steele, a pro-union Democrat elected by popular vote. He proclaimed the territory dissolved on June 6, 1861, several months after the official formation of the Colorado Territory, but only days after the arrival of its first governor.

The Territory of Colorado was organized on 28 Feb 1861, from parts of the territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Nebraska, and the unorganized territory that was previously the western portion of Kansas Territory. Seven people served as governor of Colorado Territory over eight terms.

The State of Colorado was admitted to the Union on 1 Aug 1876. The last governor of the Colorado Territory, John Long Routt, became the first governor of the State of Colorado. Since statehood, there have been 38 governors, serving 43 distinct terms. One governor Alva Adams served three non-consecutive terms, while John Long Routt, James Hamilton Peabody, and Edwin C. Johnson each served two non-consecutive terms.

On March 16 and 17, 1905, the state actually had three governors in the span of 24 hours: Alva Adams won the election, but soon after he took office, the legislature declared his opponent, James Hamilton Peabody, governor, but only on the condition that he immediately resign, so that his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, could become governor.

In the below list, columns can be sorted by clicking on the arrow button in any category heading box. A "C" in the final column denotes a Notable who has been successfully connected to the Big Tree. "N/C" stands for Not Connected.

GOVERNORS OF COLORADO TERRITORY

#	Governor	Born	Died	Term	Photo	C
1	William Gilpin	1813	1894	1861-1862		C
2	John Evans	1814	1897	1862-1865		C
3	Alexander Cummings	1810	1879	1865-1867		C
4	Alexander Cameron Hunt	1825	1894	1867-1869		C
5	Edward M. McCook	1833	1909	1869-1873		C
6	Samuel Hitt Elbert	1833	1899	1873-1874		C
7	Edward M. McCook	1833	1909	1874-1875		C
8	John Long Routt	1826	1907	1875-1876		C

GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

#	Governor	Born	Died	Term	Photo	C
1	John Long Routt	1826	1907	1876-1879		C
2	Frederick Walker Pitkin	1837	1886	1879-1883		C
3	James Benton Grant	1848	1911	1883-1885		C
4	Benjamin Harrison Eaton	1833	1904	1885-1887		C
5	Alva Adams	1850	1922	1887-1889		C
6	Job Adams Cooper	1843	1899	1889-1891		C
7	John Long Routt	1826	1907	1876-1879		C
8	Davis Hanson Waite	1825	1901	1893-1895		C
9	Albert McIntire	1853	1935	1895-1897		C
10	Alva Adams	1850	1922	1897-1899		C
11	Charles S. Thomas	1849	1934	1899-1901		C
12	James Bradley Orman	1849	1919	1901-1903		C
13	James Hamilton Peabody	1852	1917	1903-1905		C
14	Alva Adams	1850	1922	1905		C
15	James Hamilton Peabody	1852	1917	1905		C
16	Jesse Fuller McDonald	1858	1942	1905-1907		C
17	Henry Augustus Buchtel	1847	1924	1907-1909		C
18	John F. Shafroth	1854	1922	1909-1913		C
19	Elias M. Ammons	1860	1925	1913-1915		C
20	George Alfred Carlson	1876	1926	1915-1917		C
21	Julius Caldeen Gunter	1858	1940	1917-1919		C
22	Oliver Henry Shoup	1869	1940	1919-1923		C
23	William Ellery Sweet	1869	1942	1923-1925		C
24	Clarence Morley	1869	1948	1925-1927		C
25	Billy Adams	1861	1954	1927-1933		C
26	Edwin C. Johnson	1884	1970	1933-1937		C
27	Ray Herbert Talbot	1896	1955	1937		C
28	Teller Ammons	1895	1972	1937-1939		C
29	Ralph Lawrence Carr	1887	1950	1939-1943		C
30	John Charles Vivian	1887	1964	1943-1947		C
31	William Lee Knous	1889	1959	1947-1950		C
32	Walter Walford Johnson	1904	1987	1950-1951		C
33	Daniel I. J. Thornton	1911	1976	1951-1955		C
34	Edwin C. Johnson	1884	1970	1955-1957		C
35	Stephan McNichols	1914	1997	1957-1963		C
36	John Arthur Love	1916	2002	1963-1973		C
37	John D. Vanderhoof	1922	2013	1973-1975		C
38	Richard Lamm	1935	2021	1975-1987		C
39	Roy Romer	1928	LIVING	1987-1999		C
40	Bill Owens	1950	LIVING	1999-2007		C
41	Bill Ritter	1956	LIVING	1999-2007		N/C
42	John Hickenlooper	1952	LIVING	2011-2019		N/C
43	Jared Polis	1975	LIVING	2019-present		N/C