Speakers of the House
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states: "The House of Representatives shall chuse 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.
| 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 |
Source: Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, Congressional Research Service
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.