List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

The incumbent, Speaker Paul Ryan, shakes hands with his predecessor, John Boehner, as he assumes the office in October 2015.

There have been 54 speakers of the United States House of Representatives since the formation of the office in 1789 until present, from Frederick Muhlenberg to Paul Ryan, the incumbent. As the presiding officer over the United States House of Representatives, the speaker is second in line for the presidency, after the Vice President. Unlike some Westminster system parliaments, in which the office of Speaker is considered non-partisan, in the United States, the Speaker of the House is a leadership position and the office-holder actively works to set the majority party's legislative agenda. The Speaker usually does not personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to members of the House from the majority party. The Speaker usually does not participate in debate and rarely votes. Aside from duties relating to heading the House and the majority political party, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, and represents his or her Congressional district.

Elected by a simple majority of the members of the House, the Speaker is traditionally their party's leader in the chamber, and unlike the other House leadership, the speaker is a constitutional officer as established by Article One of the United States Constitution. At the beginning of a new Congress every two years, the House elects a speaker, either the incumbent, or a new one, depending on party composition and membership of incumbents. The most recent election to occur mid-way through a Congress occurred on October 29, 2015, when it elected Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. While every speaker has been a sitting member of Congress, the Constitution makes no requirements of House membership to hold the office.

The longest serving speaker was Sam Rayburn of Texas, who served on three separate occasions in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. One Speaker, James K. Polk, went on to become the 11th President of the United States; both Schuyler Colfax and John Nance Garner later became Vice President. Paul Ryan ran for the office, but was defeated (prior to election as Speaker).

List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

This list includes the congressional district and political affiliation of each speaker as well as the number of their Congress and time they spent in the position.

Pro-Administration (2)       Anti-Administration party (1)       Federalist (2)       Democratic-Republican (6)       Anti-Jacksonian (1)       Whig (4)       Democratic (23)       Republican (17)
№	Portrait	Speaker	Party		District	Congress	Tenure
1		Frederick Muhlenberg		Pro-Administration	Pennsylvania's at-large	1st	April 1, 1789 – March 4, 1791
2		Jonathan Trumbull, Jr.		Pro-Administration	Connecticut's 4th	2nd	October 24, 1791 – March 4, 1793
1		Frederick Muhlenberg		Anti-Administration	Pennsylvania's at-large	3rd	December 2, 1793 – March 4, 1795
3		Jonathan Dayton		Federalist	New Jersey's at-large	4th	December 7, 1795 – March 4, 1797
						5th	May 15, 1797 – March 4, 1799
4	125px	Theodore Sedgwick		Federalist	Massachusetts's 1st	6th	December 2, 1799 – March 4, 1801
5		Nathaniel Macon		Democratic-Republican	North Carolina's 5th	7th	December 7, 1801 – March 4, 1803
					North Carolina's 6th	8th	October 17, 1803 – March 4, 1805
						9th	December 2, 1805 – March 4, 1807
6		Joseph Bradley Varnum		Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts's 4th	10th	October 26, 1807 – March 4, 1809
						11th	May 22, 1809 – March 4, 1811
7		Henry Clay		Democratic-Republican	Kentucky's 5th	12th	November 4, 1811 – March 4, 1813
					Kentucky's 2nd	13th	May 24, 1813 – January 19, 1814
8		Langdon Cheves		Democratic-Republican	South Carolina's 1st		January 19, 1814 – March 4, 1815
7		Henry Clay		Democratic-Republican	Kentucky's 2nd	14th	December 4, 1815 – March 4, 1817
						15th	December 1, 1817 – March 4, 1819
						16th	December 6, 1819 – October 28, 1820
9		John W. Taylor		Democratic-Republican	New York's 11th		November 15, 1820 – March 4, 1821
10		Philip Pendleton Barbour		Democratic-Republican	Virginia's 11th	17th	December 4, 1821 – March 4, 1823
7		Henry Clay		Democratic-Republican	Kentucky's 3rd	18th	December 1, 1823 – March 4, 1825
9		John W. Taylor		Anti-Jacksonian	New York's 17th	19th	December 5, 1825 – March 4, 1827
11	125px	Andrew Stevenson		Democratic	Virginia's 9th	20th	December 3, 1827 – March 4, 1829
						21st	December 7, 1829 – March 4, 1831
						22nd	December 5, 1831 – March 4, 1833
					Virginia's 11th	23rd	December 2, 1833 – June 2, 1834
12		John Bell		Whig	Tennessee's 7th		June 2, 1834 – March 4, 1835
13		James K. Polk		Democratic	Tennessee's 9th	24th	December 7, 1835 – March 4, 1837
						25th	September 4, 1837 – March 4, 1839
14		Robert M. T. Hunter		Whig	Virginia's 9th	26th	December 16, 1839 – March 4, 1841
15		John White		Whig	Kentucky's 9th	27th	May 31, 1841 – March 4, 1843
16		John Winston Jones		Democratic	Virginia's 6th	28th	December 4, 1843 – March 4, 1845
17		John Wesley Davis		Democratic	Indiana's 6th	29th	December 1, 1845 – March 4, 1847
18		Robert Charles Winthrop		Whig	Massachusetts's 1st	30th	December 6, 1847 – March 4, 1849
19		Howell Cobb		Democratic	Georgia's 6th	31st	December 22, 1849 – March 4, 1851
20		Linn Boyd		Democratic	Kentucky's 1st	32nd	December 1, 1851 – March 4, 1853
						33rd	December 5, 1853 – March 4, 1855
21	125px	Nathaniel P. Banks		Republican	Massachusetts's 7th	34th	February 2, 1856 – March 4, 1857
22		James Lawrence Orr		Democratic	South Carolina's 5th	35th	December 7, 1857 – March 4, 1859
23	125px	William Pennington		Republican	New Jersey's 5th	36th	February 1, 1860 – March 4, 1861
24		Galusha A. Grow		Republican	Pennsylvania's 14th	37th	July 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863
25	125px	Schuyler Colfax		Republican	Indiana's 9th	38th	December 7, 1863 – March 4, 1865
						39th	December 4, 1865 – March 4, 1867
						40th	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869
26		Theodore M. Pomeroy		Republican	New York's 24th		March 3, 1869 – March 4, 1869
27		James G. Blaine		Republican	Maine's 3rd	41st	March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1871
						42nd	March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1873
						43rd	March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1875
28		Michael C. Kerr		Democratic	Indiana's 3rd	44th	December 6, 1875 – August 19, 1876
29		Samuel J. Randall		Democratic	Pennsylvania's 3rd		December 4, 1876 – March 4, 1877
						45th	October 15, 1877 – March 4, 1879
						46th	March 18, 1879 – March 4, 1881
30		J. Warren Keifer		Republican	Ohio's 8th	47th	December 5, 1881 – March 4, 1883
31		John G. Carlisle		Democratic	Kentucky's 6th	48th	December 3, 1883 – March 4, 1885
						49th	December 7, 1885 – March 4, 1887
						50th	December 5, 1887 – March 4, 1889
32		Thomas Brackett Reed		Republican	Maine's 1st	51st	December 2, 1889 – March 4, 1891
33		Charles Frederick Crisp		Democratic	Georgia's Georgia's 3rd	52nd	December 8, 1891 – March 4, 1893
						53rd	August 7, 1893 – March 4, 1895
32		Thomas Brackett Reed		Republican	Maine's 1st	54th	December 2, 1895 – March 4, 1897
						55th	March 15, 1897 – March 4, 1899
34		David B. Henderson		Republican	Iowa's 3rd	56th	December 4, 1899 – March 4, 1901
						57th	December 2, 1901 – March 4, 1903
35		Joseph Gurney Cannon		Republican	Illinois's 18th	58th	November 9, 1903 – March 4, 1905
						59th	December 4, 1905 – March 4, 1907
						60th	December 2, 1907 – March 4, 1909
						61st	March 15, 1909 – March 4, 1911
36		Champ Clark		Democratic	Missouri's 9th	62nd	April 4, 1911 – March 4, 1913
						63rd	April 7, 1913 – March 4, 1915
						64th	December 6, 1915 – March 4, 1917
						65th	April 2, 1917 – March 4, 1919
37	125px	Frederick Gillett		Republican	Massachusetts's 2nd	66th	May 19, 1919 – March 4, 1921
						67th	April 11, 1921 – March 4, 1923
						68th	December 3, 1923 – March 4, 1925
38		Nicholas Longworth		Republican	Ohio's 1st	69th	December 7, 1925 – March 4, 1927
						70th	December 5, 1927 – March 4, 1929
						71st	April 15, 1929 – March 4, 1931
39		John Nance Garner		Democratic	Texas's 15th	72nd	December 7, 1931 – March 4, 1933
40		Henry Thomas Rainey		Democratic	Illinois's 20th	73rd	March 9, 1933 – August 19, 1934
41		Joseph W. Byrns Sr.		Democratic	Tennessee's 5th	74th	January 3, 1935 – June 4, 1936
42		William B. Bankhead		Democratic	Alabama's 7th		June 4, 1936 – January 3, 1937
						75th	January 5, 1937 – January 3, 1939
						76th	January 3, 1939 – September 15, 1940
43		Sam Rayburn		Democratic	Texas's 4th		September 16, 1940 – January 3, 1941
						77th	January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943
						78th	January 6, 1943 – January 3, 1945
						79th	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947
44		Joseph William Martin, Jr.		Republican	Massachusetts's 14th	80th	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949
43		Sam Rayburn		Democratic	Texas's 4th	81st	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951
						82nd	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953
44		Joseph William Martin, Jr.		Republican	Massachusetts's 14th	83rd	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955
43		Sam Rayburn		Democratic	Texas's 4th	84th	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957
						85th	January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959
						86th	January 7, 1959 – January 3, 1961
						87th	January 3, 1961 – November 16, 1961
45		John William McCormack		Democratic	Massachusetts's 12th		January 10, 1962 – January 3, 1963
					Massachusetts's 9th	88th	January 9, 1963 – January 3, 1965
						89th	January 4, 1965 – January 3, 1967
						90th	January 10, 1967 – January 3, 1969
						91st	January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971
46		Carl Albert		Democratic	Oklahoma's 3rd	92nd	January 21, 1971 – January 3, 1973
						93rd	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1975
						94th	January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1977
47		Tip O'Neill		Democratic	Massachusetts's 8th	95th	January 4, 1977 – January 3, 1979
						96th	January 15, 1979 – January 3, 1981
						97th	January 5, 1981 – January 3, 1983
						98th	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985
						99th	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987
48		Jim Wright		Democratic	Texas's 12th	100th	January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1989
						101st	January 3, 1989 – June 6, 1989
49		Tom Foley		Democratic	Washington's 5th		June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1991
						102nd	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993
						103rd	January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1995
50	125px	Newt Gingrich		Republican	Georgia's 6th	104th	January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1997
						105th	January 7, 1997 – January 3, 1999
51		Dennis Hastert		Republican	Illinois's 14th	106th	January 6, 1999 – January 3, 2001
						107th	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003
						108th	January 7, 2003 – January 3, 2005
						109th	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
52		Nancy Pelosi		Democratic	California's 12th	110th	January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009
						111th	January 6, 2009 – January 3, 2011
53		John Boehner		Republican	Ohio's 8th	112th	January 5, 2011 – January 3, 2013
						113th	January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
						114th	January 6, 2015 – October 29, 2015
54		Paul Ryan		Republican	Wisconsin's 1st		October 29, 2015 – Present

^a Note: Nathaniel Banks, a former Democrat originally elected as a member of the Know Nothing Party, had come to be associated with the Republicans by the time the 34th Congress convened. Because the Republicans did not command a majority in Congress and Banks did not receive any votes from Democrats or Southern Know Nothings, Banks, after two months of deadlocked balloting, could only be elected on the 133rd ballot after a motion was passed allowing the election of a Speaker by plurality vote.

List of Speakers by time in office

Sam Rayburn served for 17 years, 53 days

Tip O'Neill served for 9 years, 350 days

John W. McCormack served for 8 years, 344 days

Theodore M. Pomeroy served for just 1 day

This list is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater. Time after adjournment of one Congress but before the convening of the next Congress is not counted. For example, Nathaniel Macon was Speaker in both the 8thth and 9th Congresses, but the eight-month gap between the two Congresses is not counted toward his service.

Sam Rayburn and Henry Clay are the only people to have served as Speaker of the House for more than ten years.

Theodore M. Pomeroy served as Speaker of the House for one day after Speaker Schuyler Colfax resigned to become Vice President of the United States; Pomeroy's term as a Member of Congress ended the next day.

Sam Rayburn, Henry Clay, Thomas Brackett Reed, Joseph William Martin, Jr., Frederick Muhlenberg, and John W. Taylor are the only Speakers of the House to have ever served in non-consecutive Congresses (i.e. another Speaker served in between each tenure).

Rank	Speaker	Order in office	Time in office
1	Sam Rayburn (D)	43	17 years, 53 days
2	Henry Clay (D-R)	7	10 years, 196 days
3	Tip O'Neill (D)	47	9 years, 350 days
4	John William McCormack (D)	45	8 years, 344 days
5	Dennis Hastert (R)	51
6	Champ Clark (D)	36	6 years, 357 days
7	Carl Albert (D)	46	5 years, 337 days
8	Joseph Gurney Cannon (R)	35	5 years, 285 days
9	Tom Foley (D)	49
10	James G. Blaine (R)	27	5 years, 93 days
11	Frederick H. Gillett (R)	37	4 years, 341 days
12	John Boehner (R)	53	4 years, 297 days
13	Schuyler Colfax (R)	25	4 years, 176 days
14	Thomas Brackett Reed (R)	32	4 years, 172 days
15	Nicholas Longworth (R)	38	4 years, 133 days
16	William B. Bankhead (D)	42
17	Andrew Stevenson (D)	11	4 years, 83 days
18	Joseph William Martin, Jr. (R)	44	4 years
19	Nancy Pelosi (D)	52
20	Newt Gingrich (R)	50
21	Nathaniel Macon (D-R)	5	3 years, 317 days
22	John G. Carlisle (D)	31	3 years, 267 days
23	Samuel J. Randall (D)	29	3 years, 215 days
24	Frederick Muhlenberg (Pro-Admin/Anti-Admin)	1	3 years, 64 days
25	Joseph Bradley Varnum (D-R)	6	3 years, 49 days
26	Jonathan Dayton (F)	3	3 years, 14 days
27	Charles Frederick Crisp (D)	33	2 years, 295 days
28	James K. Polk (D)	13	2 years, 268 days
29	Linn Boyd (D)	20	2 years, 182 days
30	David B. Henderson (R)	34	2 years, 182 days
31	Jim Wright (D)	48
32	John White (W)	15
33	Galusha A. Grow (R)	24
34	John W. Taylor (D-R/NR)	9	1 year, 198 days
35	Henry Thomas Rainey (D)	40
36	Joseph W. Byrns, Sr. (D)	41
37	Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (F)	2
38	John Wesley Davis (D)	17
39	Theodore Sedgwick (F)	4
40	Philip Pendleton Barbour (D-R)	10
41	John Winston Jones (D)	16
42	J. Warren Keifer (R)	30
43	Robert Charles Winthrop (W)	18
44	James Lawrence Orr (D)	22
45	John Nance Garner (D)	39
46	Robert M. T. Hunter (W)	14
47	Howell Cobb (D)	19
48	Langdon Cheves (D-R)	8
49	William Pennington (R)	23
50	Nathaniel P. Banks (R)	21
51	John Bell (W)	12	days
52	Michael C. Kerr (D)	28	days
53	Paul Ryan (R)	54
54	Theodore M. Pomeroy (R)	26	day

Number of Speakers per State

• Referring to individual

Number	State
8	Massachusetts
4	Kentucky
	Virginia
3	Georgia
	Illinois
	Indiana
	Ohio
	Pennsylvania
	Tennessee
	Texas
2	Maine
	New Jersey
	New York
	South Carolina
1	Alabama
	California
	Connecticut
	Iowa
	Missouri
	North Carolina
	Oklahoma
	Washington
	Wisconsin

List of living former Speakers

Since the retirement of John Boehner on October 29, 2015 there are four former living speakers. Picture below, in order of service:

Speaker	Years as Speaker	Current age
Newt Gingrich	1995 – 1999	(1943-06-17) June 17, 1943
Dennis Hastert	1999 – 2007	(1942-01-02) January 2, 1942
Nancy Pelosi	2007 – 2011	(1940-03-26) March 26, 1940
John Boehner	2011 – 2015	(1949-11-17) November 17, 1949

External links

• Official Website, Information about role as party leader, powers as presiding officer.
• "Capitol Questions." C-SPAN (2003). Notable elections and role.
• The Cannon Centenary Conference: The Changing Nature of the Speakership. (2003). House Document 108-204. History, nature and role of the Speakership.
• Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress, 5th ed. (2000). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press.
• Wilson, Woodrow. (1885). Congressional Government. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by Vice President Joe Biden	2nd in line	Succeeded by President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch