List of the oldest United States Governors

This is a list of the 100 oldest United States Governors. It is compiled from governors who have lived the longest irrespective of their age while in office. It includes only state governors and omits any from territories or colonies. Albert Rosellini has held the record for the longest lifespan at 101 years, 262 days since his death on October 10, 2011. The oldest living person is Raúl H. Castro at age and he will break the record if he is still alive on March 2, 2018. The living governor that is closest to entering this list is William Milliken at age .

Rank

Governor

State

Served

Party

Date of birth

Date of death

Age

1

Albert Rosellini

Washington

1957–1965

|Democratic

January 21, 1910

October 10, 2011

2

Jimmie Davis

Louisiana

1944–1948, 1960–1964

|Democratic

September 11, 1899

November 5, 2000

3

Nellie Tayloe Ross

Wyoming

1925–1927

|Democratic

November 29, 1876

December 19, 1977

4

Strom Thurmond

South Carolina

1947–1951

|Democratic

December 5, 1902

June 26, 2003

5

Roswell K. Colcord

Nevada

1891–1895

|Republican

April 25, 1839

October 30, 1939

6

Alf Landon

Kansas

1933–1937

|Republican

September 9, 1887

October 12, 1987

7

Charles Poletti

New York

1942

|Democratic

July 2, 1903

August 8, 2002

8

Frank B. Morrison

Nebraska

1961–1967

|Democratic

May 20, 1905

April 19, 2004

9

Theodore F. Green

Rhode Island

1933–1937

|Democratic

October 2, 1867

May 19, 1966

10

William H. Avery

Kansas

1965–1967

|Republican

August 11, 1911

November 4, 2009

11

Fenimore Chatterton

Wyoming

1903–1905

|Republican

July 21, 1860

May 9, 1958

12

J. Bracken Lee

Utah

1949–1957

|Republican

January 7, 1899

October 20, 1996

13

Joseph W. Fifer

Illinois

1889–1893

|Republican

October 28, 1840

August 6, 1938

14

Herbert B. Maw

Utah

1941–1949

|Democratic

March 11, 1893

November 17, 1990

15

Nathaniel S. Berry

New Hampshire

1861–1863

|Republican

September 1, 1796

April 27, 1894

16

Adelbert Ames

Mississippi

1868–1870, 1874–1876

|Republican

October 31, 1835

April 12, 1933

17

Andrew W. Hockenhull

New Mexico

1933–1935

|Democratic

January 16, 1877

June 20, 1974

18

Henry S. Johnston

Oklahoma

1927–1929

|Democratic

December 30, 1867

January 7, 1965

19

Clifford Hansen

Wyoming

1963–1967

|Republican

October 16, 1912

October 20, 2009

20

Raúl H. Castro

Arizona

1975–1977

|Democratic

June 12, 1916

Living

21

John E. Weeks

Vermont

1927–1931

|Republican

June 14, 1853

September 10, 1949

22

Frederick Holbrook

Vermont

1861–1863

|Republican

February 15, 1813

April 28, 1909

23

Arthur A. Link

North Dakota

1973–1981

|Democratic

May 24, 1914

June 1, 2010

24

Levi P. Morton

New York

1895–1896

|Republican

May 16, 1824

May 16, 1920

25

Burton M. Cross

Maine

1952–1953, 1953–1955

|Republican

November 15, 1902

October 22, 1998

26

John Anderson Jr.

Kansas

1961–1965

|Republican

May 8, 1917

Living

27

Milward L. Simpson

Wyoming

1955–1959

|Republican

November 12, 1897

June 10, 1993

28

William Scranton

Pennsylvania

1963–1967

|Republican

July 19, 1917

Living

29

Forrest C. Donnell

Missouri

1941–1945

|Republican

August 20, 1884

March 3, 1980

30

Elmer L. Andersen

Minnesota

1961–1963

|Republican

June 17, 1909

November 15, 2004

31

Horace Boies

Iowa

1890–1894

|Democratic

December 7, 1827

April 4, 1923

32

Edgar Whitcomb

Indiana

1969–1973

|Republican

November 6, 1917

Living

33

Dwight W. Burney

Nebraska

1960–1961

|Republican

January 7, 1892

March 10, 1987

34

George M. Leader

Pennsylvania

1955–1959

|Democratic

January 17, 1918

Living

35

Elbert N. Carvel

Delaware

1949–1953, 1961–1965

|Democratic

February 9, 1910

February 6, 2005

36

Paul Fannin

Arizona

1959–1965

|Republican

January 29, 1907

January 13, 2002

37

Otis R. Bowen

Indiana

1973–1981

|Republican

February 26, 1918

Living

38

Patrick Lucey

Wisconsin

1971–1977

|Democratic

March 21, 1918

Living

39

Martin F. Ansel

South Carolina

1907–1911

|Democratic

December 12, 1850

August 23, 1945

40

W. Averell Harriman

New York

1955–1958

|Democratic

November 15, 1891

July 26, 1986

41

Frank Lausche

Ohio

1945–1947, 1949–1957

|Democratic

November 14, 1895

April 21, 1990

42

Russell W. Peterson

Delaware

1969–1973

|Republican

October 3, 1916

February 21, 2011

43

Frank Carlson

Kansas

1947–1950

|Republican

January 23, 1893

May 30, 1987

44

William Marvin

Florida

1865

Provisional

April 14, 1808

July 19, 1902

45

Joshua Hall

Maine

1830

|Democratic

October 22, 1768

December 25, 1862

46

Bill Clements

Texas

1979–1983, 1987–1991

|Republican

April 13, 1917

May 29, 2011

47

Harold Stassen

Minnesota

1939–1943

|Republican

April 13, 1907

March 4, 2001

48

Calvin L. Rampton

Utah

1965–1977

|Democratic

November 6, 1913

September 16, 2007

49

Alonzo Garcelon

Maine

1879–1880

|Democratic

May 6, 1813

December 8, 1906

50

Charles W. Snow

Connecticut

1946–1947

|Democratic

April 6, 1884

September 28, 1977

51

Robert Stafford

Vermont

1959–1961

|Republican

August 8, 1913

December 23, 2006

52

William L. Guy

North Dakota

1961–1973

|Democratic

September 30, 1919

Living

53

John O. Pastore

Rhode Island

1945–1950

|Democratic

March 17, 1907

July 15, 2000

Ronald Reagan

California

1967–1975

|Republican

February 6, 1911

June 5, 2004

55

Tim M. Babcock

Montana

1962–1969

|Republican

October 27, 1919

Living

56

Hulett C. Smith

West Virginia

1965–1969

|Democratic

October 21, 1918

January 15, 2012

57

Joseph B. Johnson

Vermont

1955–1959

|Republican

August 29, 1893

October 25, 1986

58

Raymond E. Baldwin

Connecticut

1939–1941, 1943–1946

|Republican

August 31, 1893

October 4, 1986

59

Billy Adams

Colorado

1927–1933

|Democratic

February 15, 1861

February 4, 1954

60

Happy Chandler

Kentucky

1935–1939, 1955–1959

|Democratic

July 14, 1898

June 15, 1991

61

John G. Townsend Jr.

Delaware

1917–1921

|Republican

May 31, 1871

April 10, 1964

62

Walter M. Pierce

Oregon

1923–1927

|Democratic

May 30, 1861

March 27, 1954

63

Marvin Mandel

Maryland

1969–1979

|Democratic

April 19, 1920

Living

64

Percival P. Baxter

Maine

1921–1925

|Republican

November 22, 1876

June 12, 1969

65

John W. Bricker

Ohio

1939–1945

|Republican

September 6, 1893

March 22, 1986

66

David P. Buckson

Delaware

1960–1961

|Republican

July 25, 1920

Living

67

Henry S. Caulfield

Missouri

1929–1933

|Republican

December 9, 1873

May 11, 1966

68

Samuel R. Van Sant

Minnesota

1901–1905

|Republican

May 11, 1844

October 3, 1936

69

Moody Currier

New Hampshire

1885–1887

|Republican

April 22, 1806

August 23, 1898

70

Flem D. Sampson

Kentucky

1927–1931

|Republican

January 23, 1875

May 25, 1967

71

Hugh Carey

New York

1975–1982

|Democratic

April 11, 1919

August 7, 2011

72

Leo Hoegh

Iowa

1955–1957

|Republican

March 30, 1908

July 15, 2000

73

George Aiken

Vermont

1937–1941

|Republican

August 20, 1892

November 19, 1984

74

Daniel W. Turner

Iowa

1931–1933

|Republican

March 17, 1877

April 15, 1969

75

Charles C. Moore

Idaho

1923–1927

|Republican

February 26, 1866

March 19, 1958

76

Donald S. Russell

South Carolina

1963–1965

|Democratic

February 22, 1906

February 22, 1998

77

Benjamin S. Paulen

Kansas

1925–1929

|Republican

July 14, 1869

July 11, 1961

78

Paul Dillingham

Vermont

1865–1867

|Republican

August 10, 1799

July 26, 1891

79

John J. Gilligan

Ohio

1971–1975

|Democratic

March 22, 1921

Living

80

Nels H. Smith

Wyoming

1939–1943

|Republican

August 27, 1884

July 5, 1976

81

John H. Reed

Maine

1959–1967

|Republican

January 5, 1921

October 31, 2012

82

Frederick B. Fancher

North Dakota

1899–1901

|Republican

April 2, 1852

January 10, 1944

83

Alpheus Felch

Michigan

1846–1847

|Democratic

September 28, 1804

June 13, 1896

84

Edward F. Arn

Kansas

1951–1955

|Republican

May 19, 1906

January 22, 1998

85

Preston Smith

Texas

1969–1973

|Democratic

March 8, 1912

October 18, 2003

86

Bruce Sundlun

Rhode Island

1991–1995

|Democratic

January 19, 1920

July 21, 2011

87

William Plumer

New Hampshire

1812–1813, 1816–1819

|Democratic-Republican

June 25, 1759

December 22, 1850

88

Jim Rhodes

Ohio

1963–1971, 1975–1983

|Republican

September 13, 1909

March 4, 2001

89

John M. Patterson

Alabama

1959–1963

|Democratic

September 27, 1921

Living

90

William H. McMaster

South Dakota

1921–1925

|Republican

May 10, 1877

September 14, 1968

91

Sid McMath

Arkansas

1949–1953

|Democratic

June 14, 1912

October 4, 2003

92

Augustus O. Stanley

Kentucky

1915–1919

|Democratic

May 21, 1867

August 12, 1958

Dennis J. Roberts

Rhode Island

1951–1959

|Democratic

April 8, 1903

June 30, 1994

94

Robert D. Blue

Iowa

1945–1949

|Republican

September 24, 1898

December 13, 1989

95

Joseph Johnson

Virginia

1852–1856

|Democratic

December 19, 1785

February 27, 1877

96

James M. Wells

Louisiana

1865–1867

|Republican

January 8, 1808

February 28, 1899

97

William J. Bulow

South Dakota

1927–1931

|Democratic

January 13, 1869

February 26, 1960

98

Ernest Hollings

South Carolina

1959–1963

|Democratic

January 1, 1922

Living

99

Jacob Stout

Delaware

1820–1821

|Federalist

1764

November, 1855

100

William W. Barron

West Virginia

1961–1965

|Democratic

December 8, 1911

November 12, 2002

See also

  • Oldest living United States governor
  • Earliest serving United States governor
  • List of the oldest United States Senators
  • List of the oldest members of the United States House of Representatives