List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. The Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and ahead of the President pro tempore of the Senate.

Unlike some Westminster system parliaments, in which the office of Speaker is considered non-partisan, in the United States, the Speaker of the House is a leadership position and the office-holder actively works to set the majority party's legislative agenda. The Speaker usually does not personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to members of the House from the majority party. The Speaker usually does not participate in debate and rarely votes. Aside from duties relating to heading the House and the majority political party, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, and represents his or her Congressional district.

In the modern era, the Speaker is elected at the beginning of the new Congress by a majority of the Representatives-elect from candidates separately chosen by the majority- and minority-party caucuses. In cases of an unexpected vacancy during a Congress a new Speaker is elected by a majority of the House from candidates previously chosen by the majority and minority parties.[1] While no rule exists, based on tradition and practice from the earliest days of the nation, to be elected speaker a candidate must receive an absolute majority of all votes cast for individuals, i.e. excluding those who abstain. If no candidate wins such a majority, then the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected. There have been 14 instances of Speaker elections requiring multiple ballots.[1] The Speaker is traditionally the majority party's leader in the chamber, although unlike other House leadership, there is no Constitutional requirement that the speaker be an elected member of the House (every house speaker to date has been an elected member of the House).[2] The most recent election to occur mid-way through a Congress occurred on October 29, 2015, when it elected Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to the office.

Since the office was created in 1789, 54 individuals, from 23 of the 50 states, have served as Speaker of the House. The number from each state are:

The longest serving speaker was Sam Rayburn, who served on three separate occasions between 1940 and 1961. Tip O'Neill had the longest uninterrupted tenure as speaker, serving January 4, 1977 – January 3, 1987. Theodore M. Pomeroy had the shortest tenure of any speaker, serving March 3–4, 1869. Six speakers—Henry Clay, Joseph William Martin, Jr., Frederick Muhlenberg, Sam Rayburn, Thomas Brackett Reed, and John W. Taylor—served non-consecutive terms of office. One Speaker, James K. Polk, went on to become the 11th President of the United States. Two, Schuyler Colfax and John Nance Garner, later became Vice President; additionally, Paul Ryan ran unsuccessfully for the office in 2012, prior to election as Speaker. In 2007, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to serve as the House Speaker.

Speakers of the House of Representatives

The House has elected a new Speaker 124 times since 1789.[1] Of the 54 people who have served as Speaker over the past 227 years, 32 served multiple terms. In some instances, those terms were non-consecutive. While listed multiple times, those with breaks in their time as Speaker been assigned only one index number.

  Pro-Administration (2)[lower-alpha 1]      Anti-Administration (1)[lower-alpha 1]      Federalist (2)      Democratic-Republican (6)[lower-alpha 2]
  Pro-Adams (1)[lower-alpha 2]      Whig (4)      Democratic (23)      Republican (17)

Speaker Party State and
district[lower-alpha 3]		 Term of service Congress
1 Frederick Muhlenberg   Pro-Administration Pennsylvania
At-large		 April 1, 1789 – March 4, 1791 1st
2 Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.   Pro-Administration Connecticut
At-large		 October 24, 1791 – March 4, 1793 2nd
1 Frederick Muhlenberg   Anti-Administration Pennsylvania
At-large		 December 2, 1793[lower-alpha 4] – March 4, 1795 3rd
3 Jonathan Dayton   Federalist New Jersey
At-large		 December 7, 1795 – March 4, 1797 4th
May 15, 1797 – March 4, 1799 5th
4 Theodore Sedgwick   Federalist Massachusetts
1st		 December 2, 1799[lower-alpha 5] – March 4, 1801 6th
5 Nathaniel Macon   Democratic-Republican North Carolina
5th		 December 7, 1801 – March 4, 1803 7th
North Carolina
6th		 October 17, 1803 – March 4, 1805 8th
December 2, 1805[lower-alpha 4] – March 4, 1807 9th
6 Joseph Bradley Varnum   Democratic-Republican Massachusetts
4th		 October 26, 1807 – March 4, 1809 10th
May 22, 1809[lower-alpha 5] – March 4, 1811 11th
7 Henry Clay   Democratic-Republican Kentucky
5th		 November 4, 1811 – March 4, 1813 12th
Kentucky
2nd		 May 24, 1813 – January 19, 1814[lower-alpha 6] 13th
8 Langdon Cheves   Democratic-Republican South Carolina
1st		 January 19, 1814 – March 4, 1815
7 Henry Clay   Democratic-Republican Kentucky
2nd		 December 4, 1815 – March 4, 1817 14th
December 1, 1817 – March 4, 1819 15th
December 6, 1819 – October 28, 1820[lower-alpha 6] 16th
9 John W. Taylor   Democratic-Republican New York
11th		 November 15, 1820[lower-alpha 7] – March 4, 1821
10 Philip Pendleton Barbour   Democratic-Republican Virginia
11th		 December 4, 1821[lower-alpha 8] – March 4, 1823 17th
7 Henry Clay   Democratic-Republican Kentucky
3rd		 December 1, 1823 – March 4, 1825 18th
9 John W. Taylor   Pro-Adams New York
17th		 December 5, 1825[lower-alpha 5] – March 4, 1827 19th
11 Andrew Stevenson Jacksonian
(Democratic)		 Virginia
9th		 December 3, 1827 – March 4, 1829 20th
December 7, 1829 – March 4, 1831 21st
December 5, 1831 – March 4, 1833 22nd
Virginia
11th		 December 2, 1833 – June 2, 1834[lower-alpha 6] 23rd
12 John Bell Whig Tennessee
7th		 June 2, 1834[lower-alpha 9] – March 4, 1835
13 James K. Polk Democratic Tennessee
9th		 December 7, 1835 – March 4, 1837 24th
September 4, 1837 – March 4, 1839 25th
14 Robert M. T. Hunter Whig Virginia
9th		 December 16, 1839[lower-alpha 10] – March 4, 1841 26th
15 John White Whig Kentucky
9th		 May 31, 1841 – March 4, 1843 27th
16 John Winston Jones Democratic Virginia
6th		 December 4, 1843 – March 4, 1845 28th
17 John Wesley Davis Democratic Indiana
6th		 December 1, 1845 – March 4, 1847 29th
18 Robert Charles Winthrop Whig Massachusetts
1st		 December 6, 1847[lower-alpha 4] – March 4, 1849 30th
19 Howell Cobb Democratic Georgia
6th		 December 22, 1849[lower-alpha 11] – March 4, 1851 31st
20 Linn Boyd Democratic Kentucky
1st		 December 1, 1851 – March 4, 1853 32nd
December 5, 1853 – March 4, 1855 33rd
21 Nathaniel P. Banks Republican Massachusetts
7th		 February 2, 1856[lower-alpha 12] – March 4, 1857 34th
22 James Lawrence Orr Democratic South Carolina
5th		 December 7, 1857 – March 4, 1859 35th
23 William Pennington Republican New Jersey
5th		 February 1, 1860[lower-alpha 13] – March 4, 1861 36th
24 Galusha A. Grow Republican Pennsylvania
14th		 July 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863 37th
25 Schuyler Colfax Republican Indiana
9th		 December 7, 1863 – March 4, 1865 38th
December 4, 1865 – March 4, 1867 39th
March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869 40th
26 Theodore M. Pomeroy Republican New York
24th		 March 3-4, 1869
27 James G. Blaine Republican Maine
3rd		 March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1871 41st
March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1873 42nd
March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1875 43rd
28 Michael C. Kerr Democratic Indiana
3rd		 December 6, 1875 – August 19, 1876[lower-alpha 14] 44th
29 Samuel J. Randall Democratic Pennsylvania
3rd		 December 4, 1876 – March 4, 1877
October 15, 1877 – March 4, 1879 45th
March 18, 1879 – March 4, 1881 46th
30 J. Warren Keifer Republican Ohio
8th		 December 5, 1881 – March 4, 1883 47th
31 John G. Carlisle Democratic Kentucky
6th		 December 3, 1883 – March 4, 1885 48th
December 7, 1885 – March 4, 1887 49th
December 5, 1887 – March 4, 1889 50th
32 Thomas Brackett Reed Republican Maine
1st		 December 2, 1889 – March 4, 1891 51st
33 Charles Frederick Crisp Democratic Georgia
3rd		 December 8, 1891 – March 4, 1893 52nd
August 7, 1893 – March 4, 1895 53rd
32 Thomas Brackett Reed Republican Maine
1st		 December 2, 1895 – March 4, 1897 54th
March 15, 1897 – March 4, 1899 55th
34 David B. Henderson Republican Iowa
3rd		 December 4, 1899 – March 4, 1901 56th
December 2, 1901 – March 4, 1903 57th
35 Joseph Gurney Cannon Republican Illinois
18th		 November 9, 1903 – March 4, 1905 58th
December 4, 1905 – March 4, 1907 59th
December 2, 1907 – March 4, 1909 60th
March 15, 1909 – March 4, 1911 61st
36 Champ Clark Democratic Missouri
9th		 April 4, 1911 – March 4, 1913 62nd
April 7, 1913 – March 4, 1915 63rd
December 6, 1915 – March 4, 1917 64th
April 2, 1917 – March 4, 1919 65th
37 Frederick H. Gillett Republican Massachusetts
2nd		 May 19, 1919 – March 4, 1921 66th
April 11, 1921 – March 4, 1923 67th
December 3, 1923[lower-alpha 15] – March 4, 1925 68th
38 Nicholas Longworth Republican Ohio
1st		 December 7, 1925 – March 4, 1927 69th
December 5, 1927 – March 4, 1929 70th
April 15, 1929 – March 4, 1931 71st
39 John Nance Garner Democratic Texas
15th		 December 7, 1931 – March 4, 1933 72nd
40 Henry Thomas Rainey Democratic Illinois
20th		 March 9, 1933 – August 19, 1934[lower-alpha 14] 73rd
41 Joseph W. Byrns, Sr. Democratic Tennessee
5th		 January 3, 1935 – June 4, 1936[lower-alpha 14] 74th
42 William B. Bankhead Democratic Alabama
7th		 June 4, 1936 – January 3, 1937
January 5, 1937 – January 3, 1939 75th
January 3, 1939 – September 15, 1940[lower-alpha 14] 76th
43 Sam Rayburn Democratic Texas
4th		 September 16, 1940 – January 3, 1941
January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943 77th
January 6, 1943 – January 3, 1945 78th
January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947 79th
44 Joseph William Martin, Jr. Republican Massachusetts
14th		 January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 80th
43 Sam Rayburn Democratic Texas
4th		 January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951 81st
January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 82nd
44 Joseph William Martin, Jr. Republican Massachusetts
14th		 January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955 83rd
43 Sam Rayburn Democratic Texas
4th		 January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957 84th
January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959 85th
January 7, 1959 – January 3, 1961 86th
January 3, 1961 – November 16, 1961[lower-alpha 14] 87th
45 John William McCormack Democratic Massachusetts
12th		 January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1963
Massachusetts
9th		 January 9, 1963 – January 3, 1965 88th
January 4, 1965 – January 3, 1967 89th
January 10, 1967 – January 3, 1969 90th
January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971 91st
46 Carl Albert Democratic Oklahoma
3rd		 January 21, 1971 – January 3, 1973 92nd
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975 93rd
January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1977 94th
47 Tip O'Neill Democratic Massachusetts
8th		 January 4, 1977 – January 3, 1979 95th
January 15, 1979 – January 3, 1981 96th
January 5, 1981 – January 3, 1983 97th
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 98th
January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987 99th
48 Jim Wright Democratic Texas
12th		 January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1989 100th
January 3, 1989 – June 6, 1989[lower-alpha 6] 101st
49 Tom Foley Democratic Washington
5th		 June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1991
January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993 102nd
January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1995 103rd
50 Newt Gingrich Republican Georgia
6th		 January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1997 104th
January 7, 1997 – January 3, 1999 105th
51 Dennis Hastert Republican Illinois
14th		 January 6, 1999 – January 3, 2001 106th
January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003 107th
January 7, 2003 – January 3, 2005 108th
January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 109th
52 Nancy Pelosi[lower-alpha 16] Democratic California
8th		 January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009 110th
January 6, 2009 – January 3, 2011 111th
53 John Boehner Republican Ohio
8th		 January 5, 2011 – January 3, 2013 112th
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015 113th
January 6, 2015 – October 29, 2015[lower-alpha 6] 114th
54 Paul Ryan[lower-alpha 16] Republican Wisconsin
1st		 October 29, 2015 – incumbent

Notes

  1. 1 2 Frederick Muhlenberg served as speaker twice in the 1790s, before political factions became formal parties; initially he identified with the pro–administration faction, but later he aligned himself with the anti–administration faction.
  2. 1 2 John Taylor served as speaker twice in the 1820s; initially he was as a member of the Democratic–Republican Party, and later, when the party began to fracture, he sided with its pro–Adams faction.
  3. ↑ The district listed is the district the speaker represented at the time they were in office, which might be different from Congress to Congress due to redistricting.
  4. 1 2 3 Elected on 3rd ballot
  5. 1 2 3 Elected on 2nd ballot
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Resigned from office
  7. ↑ Elected on 22nd ballot
  8. ↑ Elected on 12th ballot
  9. ↑ Elected on 10th ballot
  10. ↑ Elected on 11th ballot
  11. ↑ Elected on 63rd ballot
  12. ↑ Elected on 133rd ballot
  13. ↑ Elected on 44th ballot
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Died in office
  15. ↑ Elected on 9th ballot
  16. 1 2 Current member of the House of Representatives

Speakers by time in office

The length of time given below is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater. Also, as many speakers were elected multiple times, and to terms that were, in several instances, not consecutive, the length of time given for each speaker measures their cumulative length of incumbency as speaker. Further, time after adjournment of one Congress but before the convening of the next Congress is not counted. For example, Nathaniel Macon was Speaker in both the 8th and 9th Congresses, but the eight-month gap between the two Congresses is not counted toward his service. The exact dates of service for each individual speaker is shown in the Term of service column of the above table.

Official seal of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Sam Rayburn, longest serving speaker of the House,
17 years, 53 days (cumulative)
Tip O'Neill, longest uninterrupted tenure of office,
9 years, 350 days
Theodore M. Pomeroy, shortest tenure of office, 1 day
Rank Speaker Time in office TE OS
1 Rayburn, SamSam Rayburn 17 years, 53 days 10 43
2 Clay, HenryHenry Clay 10 years, 196 days 6 7
3 O'Neill, TipTip O'Neill 9 years, 350 days 5 47
4 McCormack, John WilliamJohn William McCormack 8 years, 344 days 5 45
5 Hastert, DennisDennis Hastert 7 years, 359 days 4 51
6 Clark, ChampChamp Clark 6 years, 357 days 4 36
7 Albert, CarlCarl Albert 5 years, 337 days 3 46
8 Cannon, Joseph GurneyJoseph Gurney Cannon 5 years, 285 days 4 35
9 Foley, TomTom Foley 5 years, 209 days 3 49
10 Blaine, James G.James G. Blaine 5 years, 93 days 3 27
11 Gillett, Frederick H.Frederick H. Gillett 4 years, 341 days 3 37
12 Boehner, JohnJohn Boehner 4 years, 297 days 3 53
13 Colfax, SchuylerSchuyler Colfax 4 years, 176 days 3 25
14 Brackett Reed, ThomasThomas Brackett Reed 4 years, 172 days 3 32
15 Longworth, NicholasNicholas Longworth 4 years, 133 days 3 38
16 Bankhead, William B.William B. Bankhead 4 years, 102 days 3 42
17 Stevenson, AndrewAndrew Stevenson 4 years, 83 days 4 11
18 Martin, Jr., Joseph WilliamJoseph William Martin, Jr. 4 years 2 44
19 Pelosi, NancyNancy Pelosi 3 years, 363 days 2 52
20 Gingrich, NewtNewt Gingrich 3 years, 361 days 2 50
21 Macon, NathanielNathaniel Macon 3 years, 317 days 3 5
22 Carlisle, John G.John G. Carlisle 3 years, 267 days 3 31
23 Randall, Samuel J.Samuel J. Randall 3 years, 215 days 3 29
24 Muhlenberg, FrederickFrederick Muhlenberg 3 years, 64 days 2 1
25 Varnum, Joseph BradleyJoseph Bradley Varnum 3 years, 49 days 2 6
26 Dayton, JonathanJonathan Dayton 3 years, 14 days 2 3
27 Crisp, Charles FrederickCharles Frederick Crisp 2 years, 295 days 2 33
28 Polk, James K.James K. Polk 2 years, 268 days 2 13
29 (tie) Boyd, LinnLinn Boyd 2 years, 182 days 2 20
Henderson, David B.David B. Henderson 2 years, 182 days 2 34
31 Wright, JimJim Wright 2 years, 151 days 2 48
32 White, JohnJohn White 1 year, 277 days 1 15
33 Grow, Galusha A.Galusha A. Grow 1 year, 243 days 1 24
34 Taylor, John W.John W. Taylor 1 year, 198 days 2 9
35 Rainey, Henry ThomasHenry Thomas Rainey 1 year, 163 days 1 40
36 Byrns, Sr., Joseph W.Joseph W. Byrns, Sr. 1 year, 153 days 1 41
37 Trumbull, Jr., JonathanJonathan Trumbull, Jr. 1 year, 131 days 1 2
38 Davis, John WesleyJohn Wesley Davis 1 year, 93 days 1 17
39 Sedgwick, TheodoreTheodore Sedgwick 1 year, 92 days 1 4
40 (tie) Pendleton Barbour, PhilipPhilip Pendleton Barbour 1 year, 90 days 1 10
Jones, John WinstonJohn Winston Jones 1 year, 90 days 1 16
42 Keifer, J. WarrenJ. Warren Keifer 1 year, 89 days 1 30
43 Winthrop, Robert CharlesRobert Charles Winthrop 1 year, 88 days 1 18
44 (tie) Orr, James LawrenceJames Lawrence Orr 1 year, 87 days 1 22
Garner, John NanceJohn Nance Garner 1 year, 87 days 1 39
46 Hunter, Robert M. T.Robert M. T. Hunter 1 year, 78 days 1 14
47 Cobb, HowellHowell Cobb 1 year, 72 days 1 19
48 Cheves, LangdonLangdon Cheves 1 year, 44 days 1 8
49 Ryan, PaulPaul Ryan 1 year, 37 days 1 54
50 Pennington, WilliamWilliam Pennington 1 year, 31 days 1 23
51 Banks, Nathaniel P.Nathaniel P. Banks 1 year, 30 days 1 21
52 Bell, JohnJohn Bell 275 days 1 12
53 Kerr, Michael C.Michael C. Kerr 257 days 1 28
54 Pomeroy, Theodore M.Theodore M. Pomeroy 1 day 1 26

Living former speakers

Since the resignation of John Boehner on October 29, 2015 there are four living former speakers. The most recent former speaker to die was Jim Wright (1987-1989) on May 6, 2015. The most recently serving former speaker to die was Tom Foley (1989-1995) on October 18, 2013.

Speaker Years as Speaker Current age
Newt Gingrich 1995 – 1999 June 17, 1943
Dennis Hastert 1999 – 2007 January 2, 1942
Nancy Pelosi 2007 – 2011 March 26, 1940
John Boehner 2011 – 2015 November 17, 1949

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Speaker Elections Decided by Multiple Ballots". history.house.gov. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved August 10, 2012.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States House of Representatives document "List of Speakers of the House".

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.