List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States
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In total, 72 governors of a U.S. state have been born outside the current territory of the United States. Kate Brown of Oregon, born in Spain, is the only current governor to have been born outside the United States. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan (whose terms both ended in January 2011) are the other two most recent foreign-born governors.
Of the fifty states, 30 (or 60 percent) have had at least one governor born outside the United States. 19 states have had multiple governors who were born outside the United States. Georgia has had six foreign-born governors, who all served in office during the 18th century. The other states with the most foreign-born governors are Wisconsin (five), Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oregon (four each). Additionally, from 1905 to 1921 Utah had three consecutive foreign-born governors (John Cutler, William Spry, and Simon Bamberger).
Of the 72 foreign-born governors, 59 were born in Europe and thirteen were born in North America, including the Caribbean. A total of 30 U.S. governors have been born on the present territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (fifteen in England, seven in Scotland, six in Northern Ireland, and two in Wales), with another 2 born on territory of the Republic of Ireland while part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and 2 while part of the pre-union Kingdom of Ireland. Nine governors have been born within the present territory of Canada, seven Germany, five Norway, five Sweden, three France, three Mexico, and one Austria.
Only three foreign-born women have served as U.S. governors – Madeleine Kunin of Vermont, who was born in Switzerland; Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, who was born in Canada; and Kate Brown of Oregon, who was born in Spain.
List[]
Governors who were succeeded by another foreign-born governor are marked with a dagger (†). Governors who were preceded by another foreign-born governor are marked with a section sign (§).
Name | State | Birthplace (current country) |
State or Province | Then the territory of | Term start | Term end |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John McKinly | Delaware | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
Kingdom of Ireland | February 12, 1777 | September 22, 1777 |
Button Gwinnett† | Georgia | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | March 4, 1777 | May 8, 1777 |
John A. Treutlen§[1] | Georgia | Germany | Baden-Württemberg | Holy Roman Empire | May 8, 1777 | January 10, 1778 |
John Wereat | Georgia | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | August 6, 1779 | January 4, 1780 |
William Fleming | Virginia | United Kingdom | Scotland | Kingdom of Great Britain | June 4, 1781 | June 12, 1781 |
Thomas Burke | North Carolina | Ireland | Connacht | Kingdom of Ireland | June 26, 1781 | April 22, 1782 |
Edward Telfair | Georgia | United Kingdom | Scotland | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 9, 1786 | January 9, 1787 |
November 11, 1789 | November 7, 1793 | |||||
Samuel Johnston | North Carolina | United Kingdom | Scotland | Kingdom of Great Britain | December 20, 1787 | December 17, 1789 |
George Handley | Georgia | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 7, 1788 | January 7, 1789 |
William Paterson | New Jersey | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
Kingdom of Ireland | October 29, 1790 | March 30, 1793 |
James Jackson | Georgia | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | January 12, 1798 | March 3, 1801 |
William Davie | North Carolina | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | December 7, 1798 | November 23, 1799 |
Edward Tiffin† | Ohio | United Kingdom | England | Kingdom of Great Britain | March 3, 1803 | March 4, 1807 |
Thomas Kirker§ | Ohio | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
Kingdom of Ireland | March 4, 1807 | December 12, 1808 |
Pierre Derbigny | Louisiana | France | Picardy, Hauts-de-France | Kingdom of France | December 15, 1828 | October 6, 1829 |
Arthur MacArthur Sr. | Wisconsin | United Kingdom | Scotland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | March 21, 1856 | March 25, 1856 |
John G. Downey | California | Ireland | Connacht | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 14, 1860 | January 10, 1862 |
Edward Salomon | Wisconsin | Germany | Saxony-Anhalt | Kingdom of Prussia | April 19, 1862 | January 4, 1864 |
Michael Hahn | Louisiana | Germany | Rhineland-Palatinate | Kingdom of Bavaria | March 4, 1864 | March 4, 1865 |
Jacob Dolson Cox | Ohio | Canada | Quebec, Lower Canada | British Empire | January 8, 1866 | January 13, 1868 |
Robert B. Lindsay | Alabama | United Kingdom | Scotland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | November 26, 1870 | November 17, 1872 |
Thomas L. Young | Ohio | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | March 2, 1877 | January 14, 1878 |
William E. Smith | Wisconsin | United Kingdom | Scotland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 7, 1878 | January 2, 1882 |
George P. Wetmore | Rhode Island | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | May 26, 1885 | May 29, 1887 |
Frank Bell | Nevada | Canada | Ontario, Upper Canada | British Empire | September 21, 1890 | January 5, 1891 |
James E. Boyd | Nebraska | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 8, 1891 | January 13, 1893 |
Knute Nelson | Minnesota | Norway | Hordaland | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 4, 1893 | January 31, 1895 |
John Peter Altgeld | Illinois | Germany | Rhineland-Palatinate | Nassau | January 10, 1893 | January 11, 1897 |
Frederic T. Greenhalge | Massachusetts | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 4, 1894 | March 5, 1896 |
John Edward Jones† | Nevada | United Kingdom | Wales | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 7, 1895 | April 10, 1896 |
Roger Allin | North Dakota | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 10, 1895 | January 6, 1897 |
Reinhold Sadler§ | Nevada | Poland | Posen | Kingdom of Prussia | April 10, 1896 | January 5, 1903 |
John Lind | Minnesota | Sweden | Småland | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 2, 1899 | January 7, 1901 |
Fred M. Warner | Michigan | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 1, 1905 | January 2, 1911 |
John Cutler† | Utah | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 2, 1905 | January 4, 1909 |
Frank R. Gooding | Idaho | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 2, 1905 | January 4, 1909 |
John McLane | New Hampshire | United Kingdom | Scotland | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 5, 1905 | January 3, 1907 |
James O. Davidson | Wisconsin | Norway | Sogn og Fjordane | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 1, 1906 | January 2, 1911 |
William Spry§† | Utah | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 4, 1909 | January 1, 1917 |
Aram J. Pothier[2] | Rhode Island | Canada | Quebec | British Empire | January 5, 1909 | January 5, 1915 |
January 6, 1925 | February 4, 1928 | |||||
Adolph Eberhart | Minnesota | Sweden | Värmland | Union between Sweden and Norway | September 21, 1909 | January 5, 1915 |
Oswald West† | Oregon | Canada | Ontario | British Empire | January 11, 1911 | January 12, 1915 |
John K. Tener | Pennsylvania | United Kingdom | Ulster Northern Ireland |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 17, 1911 | January 19, 1915 |
James Withycombe§ | Oregon | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 12, 1915 | March 3, 1919 |
Moses Alexander† | Idaho | Germany | Rhineland-Palatinate | Kingdom of Bavaria | January 4, 1915 | January 6, 1919 |
Simon Bamberger§[3] | Utah | Germany | Hesse | Hesse-Darmstadt | January 1, 1917 | January 3, 1921 |
Octaviano Larrazolo | New Mexico | Mexico | Chihuahua | Mexico | January 1, 1919 | January 1, 1921 |
D. W. Davis§ | Idaho | United Kingdom | Wales | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 6, 1919 | January 1, 1923 |
Ragnvald Nestos | North Dakota | Norway | Vestland | Union between Sweden and Norway | November 23, 1921 | January 7, 1925 |
Roland H. Hartley | Washington | Canada | New Brunswick | British Empire | January 12, 1925 | January 9, 1933 |
A. W. Norblad | Oregon | Sweden | Skåne | Union between Sweden and Norway | December 21, 1929 | January 12, 1931 |
Frank Henry Cooney | Montana | Canada | Ontario | British Empire | March 13, 1933 | December 15, 1935 |
Walter Welford | North Dakota | United Kingdom | England | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | February 2, 1935 | January 6, 1937 |
Hjalmar Petersen | Minnesota | Denmark | Zealand | Denmark | August 22, 1936 | January 4, 1937 |
Julius P. Heil | Wisconsin | Germany | Rhineland-Palatinate | German Empire | January 2, 1939 | January 4, 1943 |
John Moses | North Dakota | Norway | Rogaland | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 5, 1939 | January 4, 1945 |
Sigurd Anderson | South Dakota | Norway | Aust-Agder | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 2, 1951 | January 4, 1955 |
Christian Herter | Massachusetts | France | Paris | French Third Republic | January 8, 1953 | January 3, 1957 |
J. Hugo Aronson | Montana | Sweden | Västra Götaland | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 5, 1953 | January 2, 1961 |
Joseph B. Johnson | Vermont | Sweden | Skåne | Union between Sweden and Norway | January 6, 1955 | January 8, 1959 |
John Swainson† | Michigan | Canada | Ontario | British Empire | January 1, 1961 | January 1, 1963 |
John N. Dempsey | Connecticut | Ireland | Munster | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | January 21, 1961 | January 6, 1971 |
George Romney§ | Michigan | Mexico | Chihuahua | Mexico | January 1, 1963 | January 22, 1969 |
Samuel H. Shapiro | Illinois | Estonia | Russian Empire | May 21, 1968 | January 13, 1969 | |
Raúl Héctor Castro | Arizona | Mexico | Sonora | Mexico | January 6, 1975 | October 20, 1977 |
John Sununu | New Hampshire | Cuba | Havana | Cuba | January 6, 1983 | January 4, 1989 |
Madeleine Kunin | Vermont | Switzerland | Zürich | Switzerland | January 10, 1985 | January 10, 1991 |
Stan Stephens | Montana | Canada | Alberta | British Empire | January 2, 1989 | January 4, 1993 |
Lowell Weicker | Connecticut | France | Paris | French Third Republic | January 9, 1991 | January 4, 1995 |
Jennifer Granholm | Michigan | Canada | British Columbia | Canada | January 1, 2003 | January 1, 2011 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger | California | Austria | Styria | Allied-occupied Austria | November 13, 2003 | January 3, 2011 |
Kate Brown | Oregon | Spain | Community of Madrid | Spanish State | February 18, 2015 | present |
By birthplace[]
Country | State or Province | No. of governors |
---|---|---|
Austria | Styria | 1 |
Canada | Alberta | 1 |
British Columbia | 1 | |
Colony of New Brunswick | 1 | |
Ontario | 4 | |
Quebec | 2 | |
TOTAL | 9 | |
Cuba | Havana | 1 |
Denmark | Zealand | 1 |
Estonia | 1 | |
France | Hauts-de-France | 1 |
Paris | 2 | |
TOTAL | 3 | |
Germany | 7 | |
Ireland | 4 | |
Mexico | Chihuahua | 2 |
Sonora | 1 | |
TOTAL | 3 | |
Norway | 5 | |
Poland | Province of Posen | 1 |
Spain | Community of Madrid | 1 |
Sweden | 5 | |
Switzerland | Canton of Zürich | 1 |
United Kingdom | England | 15 |
Northern Ireland | 6 | |
Scotland | 7 | |
Wales | 2 | |
TOTAL | 30 |
By state[]
State | No. of governors |
---|---|
Alabama | 1 |
Arizona | 1 |
California | 2 |
Connecticut | 2 |
Delaware | 1 |
Georgia | 6 |
Idaho | 3 |
Illinois | 2 |
Louisiana | 2 |
Massachusetts | 2 |
Michigan | 4 |
Minnesota | 4 |
Montana | 3 |
Nebraska | 1 |
Nevada | 3 |
New Hampshire | 2 |
New Jersey | 1 |
New Mexico | 1 |
North Carolina | 3 |
North Dakota | 4 |
Ohio | 4 |
Oregon | 4 |
Pennsylvania | 1 |
Rhode Island | 2 |
South Dakota | 1 |
Utah | 3 |
Vermont | 2 |
Virginia | 1 |
Washington | 1 |
Wisconsin | 5 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Treutlen was born in what was then Württemberg.
- ^ Pothier was born in what was then the Province of United Canada.
- ^ Bamberger was born in what was then Hesse-Darmstadt.
See also[]
- List of current United States governors
- List of female governors in the United States
- List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States
- List of United States Senators born outside the United States
- Lists of state governors of the United States
- American people by ethnic or national origin