List of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
---|---|
![]() Seal of the House of Representatives | |
![]() Incumbent since December 30, 2020Ron Mariano | |
Government of Massachusetts | |
Status | Presiding Officer |
Member of | General Court |
Residence | None official |
Seat | State House, Boston, Massachusetts |
Nominator | Political parties through majority house caucus |
Appointer | The House |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Massachusetts |
Formation | Original Post: May 30, 1644 Current form: October 25, 1780 |
Deputy | Speaker pro tempore |
Website | [1] |
This is a list of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. As well as presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leader, and controls the flow of legislation. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the House. The current house speaker is Ronald Mariano.
Colonial period
House of Deputies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Speaker | Portrait | Years ↑ | Town | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
William Hathorne | 1644–1645 | Salem | ||
George Cooke | 1645 | Cambridge | ||
William Hathorne | 1646 | Salem | ||
Robert Bridges | 1646 | Lynn | ||
Joseph Hills | 1647 | Mistick Side | ||
William Hathorne | 1648 | Salem | ||
Richard Russell | 1648 | Charlestown | ||
Daniel Denison | 1649 | Ipswich | ||
William Hathorne | 1650 | Salem | ||
Daniel Gookin | 1651 | Cambridge | ||
Daniel Denison | 1651–1652 | Ipswich | ||
Humphrey Atherton | 1653 | Springfield | ||
Richard Russell | 1654 | Charlestown | ||
Edward Johnson | 1655 | |||
Richard Russell | 1656 | Charlestown | ||
William Hathorne | 1657 | Salem | ||
Richard Russell | 1658 | Charlestown | ||
Thomas Savage | ![]() | 1659–1660 | ||
William Hathorne | 1660–1661 | Salem | ||
Thomas Clarke | 1662 | |||
John Leverett | ![]() | 1663–1664 | Boston | |
Thomas Clarke | 1665 | |||
Richard Waldron | 1666–1668 | Cocheco | ||
Thomas Clarke | 1669–1670 | |||
Thomas Savage | 1671 | Boston | ||
Thomas Clarke | 1672 | |||
Richard Waldron | 1673 | Cocheco | ||
Joshua Hubbard | 1673–1674 | |||
Richard Waldron | 1674–1675 | Cocheco | ||
Peter Bulkeley | 1675–1676 | Concord | ||
Thomas Savage | 1677–1678 | Boston | ||
Richard Waldron | 1679 | Cocheco | Town became part of New Hampshire | |
John Richards | 1679–1680 | Dorchester | ||
Daniel Fisher | 1680–1682 | Dedham | ||
Elisha Cooke Sr. | ![]() | 1683 | Boston | |
John Waite | 1684 | Malden | ||
Isaac Addington | 1685 | Boston | ||
John Saffin | 1686 | Boston | General Court adjourned May 21, 1686, did not convene until May or June 1689 |
Inter-Charter Period
Speaker | Portrait | Years ↑ | Town | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas Oakes | 1689 | Boston | ||
John Bowles | 1698–1690 | Boston | ||
Penn Townsend | 1690–1691 | Salem | ||
William Bond | 1691–1692 | Watertown | ||
Penn Townsend | 1692 | Salem |
Second Charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
Speaker | Portrait | Years ↑ | Town | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
William Bond | 1692–1693 | Watertown | ||
Nathaniel Byfield | ![]() | 1693–1694 | Boston | |
Nehemiah Jewett | 1694–1695 | Rowley | ||
William Bond | 1695–1696 | Watertown | ||
Penn Townsend | 1696–1697 | Salem | ||
Nathaniel Byfield | 1698 | Rowley | ||
James Converse | 1699–1700 | Woburn | ||
John Leverett | ![]() | 1700–1701 | Boston | |
Nehemiah Jewett | 1701–1702 | Rowley | ||
James Converse | 1702–1705 | Woburn | ||
Thomas Oakes | 1705–1707 | Boston | ||
John Burrill | 1707 | Lynn | ||
Thomas Oliver | 1708–1709 | Cambridge | ||
John Clark | 1709–1711 | Boston | ||
John Burrill | 1711–1720 | Lynn | ||
Elisha Cooke Jr. | ![]() | 1720 | ||
Timothy Lindall | 1720–1721 | Boston | ||
John Clark | 1721–1724 | Boston | ||
William Dudley | 1724–1729 | Roxbury | ||
John Quincy | 1729–1741 | Mount Wollaston | ||
William Fairfield | 1741 | Wenham | ||
Thomas Cushing II | 1742–1746 | Boston | ||
Thomas Hutchinson | ![]() | 1746–1748 | Boston | Resigned when appointed to the Governor's Council |
Joseph Dwight | 1748–1750 | Brookfield | ||
Thomas Hubbard | 1750–1759 | Waltham | ||
Samuel White | May 30, 1759 – May 28, 1760 | Taunton | ||
James Otis Sr. | ![]() | May 28, 1760 – May 26, 1762 | Barnstable | Resigned when appointed to the Governor's Council |
Timothy Ruggles | ![]() | May 26, 1762 – May 25, 1764 | Rochester | |
Samuel White | May 25, 1764 – June 11, 1764 | Taunton | ||
Thomas Clap pro tem | June 11, 1764 – May 29, 1765 | |||
Samuel White | May 29, 1764 – May 28, 1766 | Taunton | ||
James Otis Jr. | ![]() | May 28, 1766 – May 28, 1766 | Barnstable | |
Thomas Cushing | ![]() | May 28, 1766 – 1774 | Boston |
Speaker | Portrait | Years ↑ | Electoral History |
---|---|---|---|
John Hancock | ![]() | 1774-1775 | Left office to attend the Second Continental Congress where he served as President |
Joseph Warren | ![]() | 1775 | Died at the Battle of Bunker Hill |
James Warren | ![]() | 1775-1780 |
House of Representatives under the Massachusetts Constitution
# | Portrait | Speaker | Party | Years ↑ | City or Town (District)1 | Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Caleb Davis | None | 1780–1782 | Boston | Resigned |
2 | ![]() | Nathaniel Gorham | None | 1782–1783 | Charlestown | [data missing] |
3 | ![]() | Tristram Dalton | None | 1783–1784 | Newbury | Elected to State Senate |
4 | ![]() | Samuel Allyne Otis | None | 1784–1785 | Barnstable | [data missing] |
5 | ![]() | Nathaniel Gorham | None | 1785–1786 | Charlestown | [data missing] |
6 | ![]() | Artemas Ward | None | 1786–1787 | Shrewsbury | [data missing] |
7 | ![]() | James Warren | None | 1787–1788 | Plymouth | [data missing] |
8 | ![]() | Theodore Sedgwick | Pro-Administration | 1788–1789 | Sheffield | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
9 | ![]() | David Cobb | Pro-Administration | 1789–1793 | Taunton | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
10 | ![]() | Edward Robbins | Democratic-Republican | 1793–1802 | Boston | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
11 | John Coffin Jones | Federalist | 1802–1803 | Boston | [data missing] | |
12 | ![]() | Harrison Gray Otis | Federalist | 1803–1805 | Boston | Elected to the State Senate |
13 | ![]() | Timothy Bigelow | Federalist | 1805–1806 | Worcester | Party lost majority |
14 | ![]() | Perez Morton | Democratic-Republican | 1806–1808 | Dorchester | Party lost majority |
15 | ![]() | Timothy Bigelow | Federalist | 1808–1810 | Worcester | Party lost majority |
16 | ![]() | Perez Morton | Democratic-Republican | 1810–1811 | Dorchester | Resigned |
17 | ![]() | Joseph Story | Democratic-Republican | 1811–1812 | Salem | Resigned when appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States |
18 | ![]() | Eleazer Ripley | Democratic-Republican | 1812 | Waterville | Joined United States Army |
19 | ![]() | Timothy Bigelow | Federalist | 1812–1820 | Worcester | [data missing] |
20 | ![]() | Elijah H. Mills | Federalist | 1820–1821 | Northampton | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
21 | ![]() | Josiah Quincy III | Federalist | 1821–1822 | Boston | Resigned to become Judge of Boston Municipal Court |
22 | ![]() | Luther Lawrence | Federalist | 1822 | Lowell | Party lost majority |
23 | ![]() | Levi Lincoln, Jr. | National Republican | 1822–1823 | Worcester | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
24 | William C. Jarvis[1] | National Republican | 1823–1825 | Woburn | Party lost majority | |
25 | ![]() | Timothy Fuller | Democratic-Republican | 1825–1826 | Cambridgeport | Party lost majority |
26 | William C. Jarvis | National Republican | 1826–1828 | Woburn | [data missing] | |
27 | ![]() | William B. Calhoun | National Republican | 1828–1834 | Springfield | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
28 | ![]() | Julius Rockwell | Whig | 1835–1837 | Pittsfield | Resigned when appointed commissioner of the Bank of Massachusetts |
29 | ![]() | Robert Charles Winthrop | Whig | 1838–1840 | Boston | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
30 | ![]() | George Ashmun | Whig | 1841 | Blandford | [data missing] |
31 | ![]() | Thomas H. Kinnicutt | Whig | 1842 | Worcester | [data missing] |
32 | ![]() | Daniel P. King | Whig | 1843 | South Danvers | [data missing] |
33 | ![]() | Thomas H. Kinnicutt | Whig | 1844 | Worcester | Resigned |
34 | Samuel H. Walley, Jr. | Whig | 1844–1846 | Boston | [data missing] | |
35 | Ebenezer Bradbury | Whig | 1847 | Newburyport | [data missing] | |
36 | Francis Crowninshield | Whig | 1848–1849 | Boston | [data missing] | |
37 | ![]() | Ensign H. Kellogg | Whig | 1850 | Pittsfield | [data missing] |
38 | ![]() | Nathaniel Prentice Banks | Democratic | 1851–1852 | Waltham | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
39 | George Bliss | Whig | 1853 | Springfield | [data missing] | |
40 | Otis P. Lord | Whig | 1854 | Salem | Party lost majority | |
41 | ![]() | Daniel C. Eddy | Know Nothing | 1855 | Lowell | [data missing] |
42 | Charles A. Phelps | Know Nothing | 1856–1857 | Boston | Elected to the Massachusetts Senate;[2] Party Lost election | |
43 | ![]() | Julius Rockwell | Republican | 1858 | Pittsfield | Resigned when appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court |
44 | ![]() | Charles Hale | Republican | 1859 | Boston | [data missing] |
45 | John A. Goodwin | Republican | 1860–1861 | Lowell | [data missing] | |
46 | ![]() | Alexander Hamilton Bullock | Republican | 1862–1865 | Worcester | Elected Governor of Massachusetts |
47 | James M. Stone | Republican | 1866–1867 | Charlestown | [data missing] | |
48 | ![]() | Harvey Jewell | Republican | 1868–1871 | Boston | [data missing] |
49 | ![]() | John E. Sanford | Republican | 1872–1875 | Taunton | [data missing] |
50 | ![]() | John Davis Long | Republican | 1876–1878 | Hingham | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
51 | ![]() | Levi C. Wade | Republican | 1879 | Newton | [data missing] |
52 | ![]() | Charles J. Noyes | Republican | 1880–1882 | Boston (14th Suffolk) | [data missing] |
53 | ![]() | George Augustus Marden | Republican | 1883–1884 | Lowell | [data missing] |
54 | ![]() | John Q. A. Brackett | Republican | January 7, 1885 – 1886 | Boston (17th Suffolk)[3] | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
55 | ![]() | Charles J. Noyes | Republican | 1887–1888 | Boston (14th Suffolk) | [data missing] |
56 | ![]() | William Emerson Barrett | Republican | 1889–1893 | Melrose (11th Middlesex) | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
57 | ![]() | George von Lengerke Meyer | Republican | 1894–1896 | Boston (9th Suffolk) | [data missing] |
58 | ![]() | John Lewis Bates | Republican | 1897–1899 | Boston (1st Suffolk) | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
59 | ![]() | James J. Myers | Republican | 1900–1903 | Cambridge (1st Middlesex) | Retired |
60 | ![]() | Louis A. Frothingham | Republican | 1904–1905 | Boston (11th Suffolk) | Left House to run for governor |
61 | ![]() | John N. Cole | Republican | 1906–1908 | Andover (8th Essex) | Left House to run for Lieutenant Governor |
62 | ![]() | Joseph Walker | Republican | 1909–1911 | Brookline (2nd Norfolk) | Left House to run for governor |
63 | ![]() | Grafton D. Cushing | Republican | 1912–1914 | Boston (11th Suffolk) | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
64 | ![]() | Channing H. Cox | Republican | 1915–1918 | Boston (10th Suffolk) | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
65 | ![]() | Joseph E. Warner | Republican | 1919–1920 | Taunton (4th Bristol) | Lost primary for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts to Alvan Fuller |
66 | ![]() | Benjamin Loring Young | Republican | 1921–1924 | Weston (13th Middlesex) | [data missing] |
67 | ![]() | John C. Hull | Republican | 1925–1928 | Leominster (11th Worcester) | Appointed First Securities Director in the wake of The Great Depression (1930–36) |
68 | ![]() | Leverett Saltonstall | Republican | 1929–1936 | Chestnut Hill (5th Middlesex) | Defeated for election as Lieutenant Governor by Francis E. Kelly [4] |
69 | ![]() | Horace T. Cahill | Republican | 1937–1938 | Braintree (6th Norfolk) | Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts |
70 | ![]() | Christian Herter | Republican | 1939–1942 | Boston (5th Suffolk) | Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives |
71 | ![]() | Rudolph King | Republican | 1943–1944 | Millis (8th Norfolk) | Resigned to run become Registrar of Motor Vehicles |
72 | ![]() | Frederick Willis | Republican | 1945–1948 | Saugus (10th Essex) | Party lost majority |
73 | ![]() | Thomas P. O'Neill | Democratic | 1949–1952 | Cambridge (3rd Middlesex) | Party lost majority; O'Neill elected to U.S. House of Representatives |
74 | ![]() | Charles Gibbons | Republican | 1953–1954 | Stoneham (22nd Middlesex) | Party lost majority |
75 | ![]() | Michael F. Skerry | Democratic | 1955–1957 | Medford (27th Middlesex) | Resigned when appointed Clerk of the Malden District Court |
76 | ![]() | John F. Thompson | Democratic | 1958–1964 | Ludlow (2nd Hampden) | Resigned after being indicted on charges of conspiracy and bribery |
77 | ![]() | John Davoren | Democratic | 1965–1967 | Milford (9th Worcester) | Resigned when appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth |
78 | ![]() | Robert H. Quinn | Democratic | 1967–1969 | Boston (9th Suffolk) | Elected Massachusetts Attorney General |
79 | ![]() | David M. Bartley | Democratic | 1969–1975 | Holyoke (7th Hampden) | Resigned to become President of Holyoke Community College |
80 | ![]() | Thomas W. McGee | Democratic | 1975–1984 | Lynn (20th Essex) | Defeated by Keverian in leadership challenge |
81 | ![]() | George Keverian | Democratic | 1985–1990 | Everett (39th Middlesex) | Retired to run for State Treasurer |
82 | ![]() | Charles Flaherty | Democratic | 1991 – April 9, 1996 | Cambridge (27th Middlesex) | Resigned: pleaded guilty to tax evasion |
83 | ![]() | Thomas Finneran | Democratic | April 9, 1996 – September 28, 2004 | Mattapan (12th Suffolk) | Resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice |
84 | ![]() | Salvatore DiMasi | Democratic | September 28, 2004 – January 27, 2009 | Boston (3rd Suffolk) | Resigned: convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and extortion |
85 | ![]() | Robert DeLeo | Democratic | January 27, 2009 – December 29, 2020 | Winthrop (19th Suffolk) | Resigned to accept position at Northeastern University |
86 | ![]() | Ron Mariano | Democratic | December 30, 2020 – present | Quincy (3rd Norfolk) | Current speaker |
See also
- List of presidents of the Massachusetts Senate
- List of Massachusetts General Courts
- List of former districts of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Notes
- 1.^ Prior to 1857, representatives were selected by a majority of votes at a town meeting. Since 1857, representatives have been elected by district.[5]
Sources
- "Organization of the Legislature Since 1780". Manual for the General Court. Massachusetts General Court. 2005–2006. pp. 338–350.
References
- ^ "Jarvis, William C., 1780-1836", A New Nation Votes: American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825, retrieved June 22, 2020
- ^ Castle, William Richards (December 1902), The Harvard Graduates' Magazine Vol XI No. 42, Boston, Massachusetts: The Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association, p. 305
- ^ Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1890). "History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men Vol. 1". Philadelphia, PA: J. W. Lewis & CO.: lviii.
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(help) - ^ "Bioguide Search".
- ^ Duane Hamilton Hurd, ed. (1888). History of Essex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1. J. W. Lewis & Company. p. 414. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
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Statewide government officials of Massachusetts
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Seal_of_Massachusetts.svg/85px-Seal_of_Massachusetts.svg.png)
- Karen Spilka, President
- Will Brownsberger, President pro tempore
- Cynthia Stone Creem, Majority Leader
- Bruce Tarr, Minority Leader
- Ronald Mariano, Speaker
- Kate Hogan, Speaker pro tempore
- Mike Moran, Majority Leader
- Bradley Jones, Minority Leader
- Kimberly S. Budd, Chief Justice
- Frank Gaziano
- Scott L. Kafker
- Dalila Argaez Wendlandt
- Serge Georges Jr.
- Bessie Dewar
- Gabrielle Wolohojian, Associate Justices