Speakers of the House

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states: "The House of Representatives shall choose 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. Information on the current Speaker is available at the web site of the Speaker of the House. The Honorable Nancy Pelosi of California is the 52nd Speaker of the House.

   

Congress
Speaker
State
Date Elected

1st

Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg

Pennsylvania

Apr. 1, 1789

2nd

Jonathan Trumbull

Connecticut

Oct. 24, 1791

3rd

Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg

Pennsylvania

Dec. 2, 1793

4th

Jonathan Dayton

New Jersey

Dec. 7, 1795

5th

Jonathan Dayton

New Jersey

May 15, 1797

6th

Theodore Sedgwick

Massachusetts

Dec. 2, 1799

7th

Nathaniel Macon

North Carolina

Dec. 7, 1801

8th

Nathaniel Macon

North Carolina

Oct. 17, 1803

9th

Nathaniel Macon

North Carolina

Dec. 2, 1805

10th

Joseph B. Varnum

Massachusetts

Oct. 26, 1807

11th

Joseph B. Varnum

Massachusetts

May 22, 1809

12th

Henry Clay

Kentucky

Nov. 4, 1811

13th

Henry Clay 1

Kentucky

May 24, 1813

13th

Langdon Cheves

South Carolina

Jan. 19, 1814

14th

Henry Clay

Kentucky

Dec. 4, 1815

15th

Henry Clay

Kentucky

Dec. 1, 1817

16th

Henry Clay 2

Kentucky

Dec. 6, 1819

16th

John W. Taylor

New York

Nov. 15, 1820

17th

Philip P. Barbour

Virginia

Dec. 4, 1821

18th

Henry Clay 3

Kentucky

Dec. 1, 1823

19th

John W. Taylor

New York

Dec. 5, 1825

20th

Andrew Stevenson

Virginia

Dec. 3, 1827

21st

Andrew Stevenson

Virginia

Dec. 7, 1829

22nd

Andrew Stevenson

Virginia

Dec. 5, 1831

23rd

John Bell

Tennessee

June 2, 1834

24th

James K. Polk

Tennessee

Dec. 7, 1835

25th

James K. Polk

Tennessee

Sept. 4, 1837

26th

Robert M.T. Hunter

Virginia

Dec. 16, 1839

27th

John White

Kentucky

May 31, 1841

28th

John W. Jones

Virginia

Dec. 4, 1843

29th

John W. Davis

Indiana

Dec. 1, 1845

30th

Robert C. Winthrop

Massachusetts

Dec. 6, 1847

31st

Howell Cobb

Georgia

Dec. 22, 1849

32nd

Linn Boyd

Kentucky

Dec. 1, 1851

33rd

Linn Boyd

Kentucky

Dec. 5, 1853

34th

Nathaniel P. Banks

Massachusetts

Feb. 2, 1856

35th

James L. Orr

South Carolina

Dec. 7, 1857

36th

William Pennington

New Jersey

Feb. 1, 1860

37th

Galusha A. Grow

Pennsylvania

July 4, 1861

38th

Schuyler Colfax

Indiana

Dec. 7, 1863

39th

Schuyler Colfax

Indiana

Dec. 4, 1865

40th

Schuyler Colfax

Indiana

Mar. 4, 1867

40th

Theodore M. Pomeroy 4

New York

Mar. 3, 1869

41st

James G. Blaine

Maine

Mar. 4, 1869

42nd

James G. Blaine

Maine

Mar. 4, 1871

43rd

James G. Blaine

Maine

Dec. 1, 1873

44th

Michael C. Kerr 5

Indiana

Dec. 6, 1875

44th

Samuel J. Randall

Pennsylvania

Dec. 4, 1876

45th

Samuel J. Randall

Pennsylvania

Oct. 15, 1877

46th

Samuel J. Randal

Pennsylvania

Mar. 18, 1879

47th

J. Warren Keifer

Ohio

Dec. 5, 1881

48th

John G. Carlisle

Kentucky

Dec. 3, 1883

49th

John G. Carlisle

Kentucky

Dec. 7, 1885

50th

John G. Carlisle

Kentucky

Dec. 5, 1887

51st

Thomas B. Reed

Maine

Dec. 2, 1889

52nd

Charles F. Crisp

Georgia

Dec. 8, 1891

53rd

Charles F. Crisp

Georgia

Aug. 7, 1893

54th

Thomas B. Reed

Maine

Dec. 2, 1895

55th

Thomas B. Reed

Maine

Mar. 15, 1897

56th

David B. Henderson

Iowa

Dec. 4, 1899

57th

David B. Henderson

Iowa

Dec. 2, 1901

58th

Joseph G. Cannon

Illinois

Nov. 9, 1903

59th

Joseph G. Cannon

Illinois

Dec. 4, 1905

60th

Joseph G. Cannon

Illinois

Dec. 2, 1907

61st

Joseph G. Cannon

Illinois

Mar. 15, 1909

62nd

James Beauchamp Clark

Missouri

Apr. 4, 1911

63rd

James Beauchamp Clark

Missouri

Apr. 7, 1913

64th

James Beauchamp Clark

Missouri

Dec. 6, 1915

65th

James Beauchamp Clark

Missouri

Apr. 2, 1917

66th

Frederick H. Gillett

Massachusetts

May 19, 1919

67th

Frederick H. Gillett

Massachusetts

Apr. 11, 1921

68th

Frederick H. Gillett

Massachusetts

Dec. 3, 1923

69th

Nicholas Longworth

Ohio

Dec. 7, 1925

70th

Nicholas Longworth

Ohio

Dec. 5, 1927

71st

Nicholas Longworth

Ohio

Apr. 15, 1929

72nd

John N. Garner

Texas

Dec. 7, 1931

73rd

Henry T. Rainey 6

Illinois

Mar. 9, 1933

74th

Joseph W. Byrns 7

Tennessee

Jan. 3, 1935

74th

William B. Bankhead

Alabama

Jun. 4, 1936

75th

William B. Bankhead

Alabama

Jan. 5, 1937

76th

William B. Bankhead 8

Alabama

Jan. 3, 1939

76th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Sept. 16, 1940

77th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 3, 1941

78th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 6, 1943

79th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 3, 1945

80th

Joseph W. Martin, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 3, 1947

81st

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 3, 1949

82nd

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 3, 1951

83rd

Joseph W. Martin, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 3, 1953

84th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 5, 1955

85th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 3, 1957

86th

Sam Rayburn

Texas

Jan. 7, 1959

87th

Sam Rayburn 9

Texas

Jan. 3, 1961

87th

John W. McCormack

Massachusetts

Jan. 10, 1962

88th

John W. McCormack

Massachusetts

Jan. 9, 1963

89th

John W. McCormack

Massachusetts

Jan. 4, 1965

90th

John W. McCormack

Massachusetts

Jan. 10, 1967

91st

John W. McCormack

Massachusetts

Jan. 3, 1969

92nd

Carl B. Albert

Oklahoma

Jan. 21, 1971

93rd

Carl B. Albert

Oklahoma

Jan. 3, 1973

94th

Carl B. Albert

Oklahoma

Jan. 14, 1975

95th

Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 4, 1977

96th

Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 15, 1979

97th

Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 5, 1981

98th

Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 3, 1983

99th

Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Massachusetts

Jan. 3, 1985

100th

James C. Wright, Jr.

Texas

Jan. 6, 1987

101st

James C. Wright, Jr. 10

Texas

Jan. 3, 1989

101st

Thomas S. Foley

Washington

Jun. 6, 1989

102nd

Thomas S. Foley

Washington

Jan. 3, 1991

103rd

Thomas S. Foley

Washington

Jan. 5, 1993

104th

Newt Gingrich

Georgia

Jan. 4, 1995

105th

Newt Gingrich

Georgia

Jan. 7, 1997

106th

J. Dennis Hastert

Illinois

Jan. 6, 1999

107th

J. Dennis Hastert

Illinois

Jan. 3, 2001

108th

J. Dennis Hastert

Illinois

Jan. 7, 2003

109th

J. Dennis Hastert

Illinois

Jan. 4, 2005

110th

Nancy Pelosi

California

Jan. 4, 2007

111th

Nancy Pelosi

California

Jan. 6, 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.