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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. Muhlenburg 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.
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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 |
Kentucky |
Jan. 19, 1814 |
14th |
Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Dec. 4, 1815 |
15th |
Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Dec. 1, 1817 |
16th |
John W. Taylor |
New York |
Nov. 15, 1820 |
16th |
Henry Clay |
Kentucky |
Dec. 6, 1819 |
17th |
Philip P. Barbour |
Virginia |
Dec. 4, 1821 |
18th |
Henry Clay |
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 |
Theodore M. Pomeroy |
New York |
Mar. 3, 1869 |
40th |
Schuyler Colfax |
Indiana |
Mar. 4, 1867 |
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 |
Samuel J. Randall |
Pennsylvania |
Dec. 4, 1876 |
44th |
Michael C. Kerr |
Indiana |
Dec. 6, 1875 |
45th |
Samuel J. Randall |
Pennsylvania |
Dec. 4, 1876 |
46th |
Samuel J. Randall |
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 |
Illinois |
Mar. 9, 1933 |
74th |
Joseph W. Byrns |
Tennessee |
Jan. 3, 1935 |
74th |
William B. Bankhead |
Alabama |
Jun. 4, 1936 |
75th |
William B. Bankhead |
Alabama |
Jan. 5, 1937 |
76th |
William B. Bankhead |
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 |
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. |
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: http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/speakers.php
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