Speakers of the House
“. . . I venture to say that, taken as a whole, the House is sound at heart; nowhere else will you find such a ready appreciation of merit and character, in few gatherings of equal size is there so little jealousy and envy. . . The men who have led the House, whose names have become a splendid tradition to their successors, have gained prominence not through luck or by mere accident. They had ability, at least in some degree; but more than that they have had character.”
Speaker Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois, (1903–1911)
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers.” And when Congress first convened in 1789, the House chose Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg as its Speaker. The Speaker acts as leader of the House and combines several roles: the institutional role of presiding officer and administrative head of the House, the partisan role of leader of the majority party in the House, and the representative role of an elected Member of the House. The Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President, after the Vice President. Information on the current Speaker, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi of California, is available at the web site of the Speaker of the House.
More information and teaching resources regarding the Speaker of the House:
Congress | Speaker | State | Date Elected |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg | Pennsylvania | Apr 01, 1789 |
2nd | Jonathan Trumbull | Connecticut | Oct 24, 1791 |
3rd | Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg | Pennsylvania | Dec 02, 1793 |
4th | Jonathan Dayton | New Jersey | Dec 07, 1795 |
5th | Jonathan Dayton | New Jersey | May 15, 1797 |
6th | Theodore Sedgwick | Massachusetts | Dec 02, 1799 |
7th | Nathaniel Macon | North Carolina | Dec 07, 1801 |
8th | Nathaniel Macon | North Carolina | Oct 17, 1803 |
9th | Nathaniel Macon | North Carolina | Dec 02, 1805 |
10th | Joseph B. Varnum | Massachusetts | Oct 26, 1807 |
11th | Joseph B. Varnum | Massachusetts | May 22, 1809 |
12th | Henry Clay | Kentucky | Nov 04, 1811 |
13th | Henry Clay 1 | Kentucky | May 24, 1813 |
13th | Langdon Cheves | South Carolina | Jan 19, 1814 |
14th | Henry Clay | Kentucky | Dec 04, 1815 |
15th | Henry Clay | Kentucky | Dec 01, 1817 |
16th | Henry Clay 2 | Kentucky | Dec 06, 1819 |
16th | John W. Taylor | New York | Nov 15, 1820 |
17th | Philip P. Barbour | Virginia | Dec 04, 1821 |
18th | Henry Clay 3 | Kentucky | Dec 01, 1823 |
19th | John W. Taylor | New York | Dec 05, 1825 |
20th | Andrew Stevenson | Virginia | Dec 03, 1827 |
21st | Andrew Stevenson | Virginia | Dec 07, 1829 |
22nd | Andrew Stevenson | Virginia | Dec 05, 1831 |
23rd | John Bell | Tennessee | Jun 02, 1834 |
24th | James K. Polk | Tennessee | Dec 07, 1835 |
25th | James K. Polk | Tennessee | Sep 04, 1837 |
26th | Robert M.T. Hunter | Virginia | Dec 16, 1839 |
27th | John White | Kentucky | May 31, 1841 |
28th | John W. Jones | Virginia | Dec 04, 1843 |
29th | John W. Davis | Indiana | Dec 01, 1845 |
30th | Robert C. Winthrop | Massachusetts | Dec 06, 1847 |
31st | Howell Cobb | Georgia | Dec 22, 1849 |
32nd | Linn Boyd | Kentucky | Dec 01, 1851 |
33rd | Linn Boyd | Kentucky | Dec 05, 1853 |
34th | Nathaniel P. Banks | Massachusetts | Feb 02, 1856 |
35th | James L. Orr | South Carolina | Dec 07, 1857 |
36th | William Pennington | New Jersey | Feb 01, 1860 |
37th | Galusha A. Grow | Pennsylvania | Jul 04, 1861 |
38th | Schuyler Colfax | Indiana | Dec 07, 1863 |
39th | Schuyler Colfax | Indiana | Dec 04, 1865 |
40th | Schuyler Colfax | Indiana | Mar 04, 1867 |
40th | Theodore M. Pomeroy 4 | New York | Mar 03, 1869 |
41st | James G. Blaine | Maine | Mar 04, 1869 |
42nd | James G. Blaine | Maine | Mar 04, 1871 |
43rd | James G. Blaine | Maine | Dec 01, 1873 |
44th | Michael C. Kerr 5 | Indiana | Dec 06, 1875 |
44th | Samuel J. Randall | Pennsylvania | Dec 04, 1876 |
45th | Samuel J. Randall | Pennsylvania | Dec 04, 1876 |
46th | Samuel J. Randall | Pennsylvania | Mar 18, 1879 |
47th | J. Warren Keifer | Ohio | Dec 05, 1881 |
48th | John G. Carlisle | Kentucky | Dec 03, 1883 |
49th | John G. Carlisle | Kentucky | Dec 07, 1885 |
50th | John G. Carlisle | Kentucky | Dec 05, 1887 |
51st | Thomas B. Reed | Maine | Dec 02, 1889 |
52nd | Charles F. Crisp | Georgia | Dec 08, 1891 |
53rd | Charles F. Crisp | Georgia | Aug 07, 1893 |
54th | Thomas B. Reed | Maine | Dec 02, 1895 |
55th | Thomas B. Reed | Maine | Mar 15, 1897 |
56th | David B. Henderson | Iowa | Dec 04, 1899 |
57th | David B. Henderson | Iowa | Dec 02, 1901 |
58th | Joseph G. Cannon | Illinois | Nov 09, 1903 |
59th | Joseph G. Cannon | Illinois | Dec 04, 1905 |
60th | Joseph G. Cannon | Illinois | Dec 02, 1907 |
61st | Joseph G. Cannon | Illinois | Mar 15, 1909 |
62nd | James Beauchamp Clark | Missouri | Apr 04, 1911 |
63rd | James Beauchamp Clark | Missouri | Apr 07, 1913 |
64th | James Beauchamp Clark | Missouri | Dec 06, 1915 |
65th | James Beauchamp Clark | Missouri | Apr 02, 1917 |
66th | Frederick H. Gillett | Massachusetts | May 19, 1919 |
67th | Frederick H. Gillett | Massachusetts | Apr 11, 1921 |
68th | Frederick H. Gillett | Massachusetts | Dec 03, 1923 |
69th | Nicholas Longworth | Ohio | Dec 07, 1925 |
70th | Nicholas Longworth | Ohio | Dec 05, 1927 |
71st | Nicholas Longworth | Ohio | Apr 15, 1929 |
72nd | John N. Garner | Texas | Dec 07, 1931 |
73rd | Henry T. Rainey 6 | Illinois | Mar 09, 1933 |
74th | Joseph W. Byrns 7 | Tennessee | Jan 03, 1935 |
74th | William B. Bankhead | Alabama | Jun 04, 1936 |
75th | William B. Bankhead | Alabama | Jan 05, 1937 |
76th | William B. Bankhead 8 | Alabama | Jan 03, 1939 |
76th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Sep 16, 1940 |
77th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 03, 1941 |
78th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 06, 1943 |
79th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 03, 1945 |
80th | Joseph W. Martin, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 03, 1947 |
81st | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 03, 1949 |
82nd | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 03, 1951 |
83rd | Joseph W. Martin, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 03, 1953 |
84th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 05, 1955 |
85th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 03, 1957 |
86th | Sam Rayburn | Texas | Jan 07, 1959 |
87th | Sam Rayburn 9 | Texas | Jan 03, 1961 |
87th | John W. McCormack | Massachusetts | Jan 10, 1962 |
88th | John W. McCormack | Massachusetts | Jan 09, 1963 |
89th | John W. McCormack | Massachusetts | Jan 04, 1965 |
90th | John W. McCormack | Massachusetts | Jan 10, 1967 |
91st | John W. McCormack | Massachusetts | Jan 03, 1969 |
92nd | Carl B. Albert | Oklahoma | Jan 21, 1971 |
93rd | Carl B. Albert | Oklahoma | Jan 03, 1973 |
94th | Carl B. Albert | Oklahoma | Jan 14, 1975 |
95th | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 04, 1977 |
96th | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 15, 1979 |
97th | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 05, 1981 |
98th | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 03, 1983 |
99th | Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. | Massachusetts | Jan 03, 1985 |
100th | James C. Wright, Jr. | Texas | Jan 06, 1987 |
101st | James C. Wright, Jr. 10 | Texas | Jan 03, 1989 |
101st | Thomas S. Foley | Washington | Jun 06, 1989 |
102nd | Thomas S. Foley | Washington | Jan 03, 1991 |
103rd | Thomas S. Foley | Washington | Jan 05, 1993 |
104th | Newt Gingrich | Georgia | Jan 04, 1995 |
105th | Newt Gingrich | Georgia | Jan 07, 1997 |
106th | J. Dennis Hastert | Illinois | Jan 06, 1999 |
107th | J. Dennis Hastert | Illinois | Jan 03, 2001 |
108th | J. Dennis Hastert | Illinois | Jan 07, 2003 |
109th | J. Dennis Hastert | Illinois | Jan 04, 2005 |
110th | Nancy Pelosi | California | Jan 04, 2007 |
111th | Nancy Pelosi | California | Jan 06, 2009 |
Source: Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
1 Resigned from the House of Representatives, January 19, 1814.2 Resigned on October 28, 1820.3 Resigned from the House of Representatives, March 6, 1825.4 Elected Speaker, March 3, 1869, and served one day.5 Died in office, August 19, 1876.6 Died in office, August 19, 1934.7 Died in office June 4, 1936.8 Died in office, September 15, 1940.9 Died November 16, 1961.10 Resigned from the House of Representatives, June 6, 1989.