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Jim Gibbons 2007-
Jim Gibbons was born December 16, 1944 and grew up in Sparks, Nevada. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Geology and his master’s in Mining/Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno, a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law and completed post-graduate work at the University of Southern California. Gibbons served in the United States Air Force in 1967-1971 and the Nevada Air National Guard in 1975-1996. He also worked in the private sector as a commercial airline pilot, a hydrologist for the Federal Water Master, a mining and exploration geologist, and as a mining and water rights attorney in Nevada. From 1989 to 1994 he served three terms in the Nevada State Assembly. In 1996 he was elected to represent Nevada's 2nd District in the House of Representatives, where he served five terms until 2006 when he was elected Nevada’s 29th Governor.
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KENNY C. GUINN 1999-2007
Kenny C. Guinn was born in Garland, Arkansas, on August 24, 1936 and grew up in Exeter, California. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in physical education from Fresno State University in 1959 and 1965, respectively, and a doctorate in education from Utah State University in Logan in 1970. He and his family moved to Nevada in 1964 where he began his education career for the Clark County School District. In 1969 Guinn became the Clark County Superintendent of Schools where he served until 1978, when he went to work in the private sector. From 1978 to 1993 he served as president and chairman of the board of directors for major banks and utility companies in southern Nevada . He chaired the Governor's Commission on Government Reorganization in 1993 and was appointed Acting President of the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1994. As the Republican candidate, he was elected the 28th governor of Nevada in 1998 and re-elected for a second term in 2002.
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ROBERT JOSEPH MILLER 1989-1999
Bob Miller was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 30, 1945, and when he was 10 his family moved to Las Vegas. Governor Miller served as Clark County District Attorney from 1979-1986. In 1986 he was elected lieutenant governor and also served as acting governor, completing the term of Richard Bryan, until his election as governor in 1990. Bob Miller was re-elected governor in 1994. After serving as governor for 12 years he joined the Las Vegas law firm of Jones Vargas.
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RICHARD HUDSON BRYAN 1983-1989
Richard Bryan was born on July 16, 1937 in Washington, D.C. and raised in Las Vegas. He became the first State Public Defender in 1966, was a State Assemblyman, State Senator and Attorney General before being elected governor in 1982. Governor Bryan is the first southern Nevadan to be elected to the state's top executive office. He resigned as Governor January 3, 1989 to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate. After serving in the U.S. Senate from 1989-2001 Governor Bryan joined the Las Vegas law firm of Lionel Sawyer and Collins.
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ROBERT FRANK LIST 1979-1983
Robert List came to Nevada from California, to practice law in Carson City. He was born in Visalia, California, on September 1, 1936 and raised in Exeter. Before becoming governor, he served as the Carson City District Attorney and the State Attorney General. He now is CEO of The Robert List Company in Las Vegas.
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DONAL NEIL O'CALLAGHAN 1971-1979
"Mike" O'Callaghan was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, on September 10, 1929. He came to Nevada in 1956 to teach in Henderson and worked in public administration for local, state and federal governments before becoming Governor in 1971. He served two terms and subsequently was an executive editor for the Las Vegas Sun newspaper until his death on March 5, 2004.
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PAUL DOMINIQUE LAXALT 1967-1971
Born in Reno on August 2, 1922, Paul Laxalt was raised in Carson City where he opened his law practice. He was elected Ormsby County District Attorney in 1950, Lieutenant Governor in 1962 and Governor in 1966. After a brief return to private law practice, Laxalt was elected U.S. Senator in 1974 and again in 1980. In 1986 he stated that he would not seek re-election. Governor Laxalt now heads the lobbying firm of The Paul Laxalt Group in Washington, D.C.
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FRANK GRANT SAWYER 1959-1967
Grant Sawyer was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, on December 14, 1918. He came to Nevada first to attend the University of Nevada and later to settle in Elko. Before becoming governor, he served as Elko County District Attorney and as member of the Board of Regents. After serving two terms in office, Governor Sawyer moved to Las Vegas to practice law until his death on February 19, 1996.
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CHARLES HINTON RUSSELL 1951-1959
Charles Russell was the sixth native born Nevada governor, born in Lovelock on December 27, 1903. He served as a State Senator and U.S. Congressman before serving two terms as Nevada's governor. He lost a bid for a third term to Grant Sawyer in 1958. Governor Russell died in Carson City on September 13, 1989 at the age of 85.
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VAIL MONTGOMERY PITTMAN 1945-1951
A Mississippi native, born at Vicksburg on September 17, 1883, Vail Pittman came to Nevada in 1904 where he owned several newspapers. He was a State Senator from White Pine County, Lieutenant Governor and later Governor of Nevada. After his term as governor, Pittman moved to Las Vegas and later died in a San Francisco hospital, January 29, 1964 at age 80.
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EDWARD PETER CARVILLE 1939-1945
Edward Carville was born on a ranch in Mound Valley, Nevada, May 14, 1885. He established a law practice in Elko and served as District Attorney and District Judge before becoming Governor in 1939. In 1945 he resigned to be appointed U.S. Senator after James Scrugham's death. After serving the remainder of the term, Carville practiced law in Reno until his death June 27, 1956.
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RICHARD KIRMAN 1935-1939
Richard Kirman was born in Virginia City on January 14, 1877 and attended local schools and Lincoln High School in San Francisco. He returned to Nevada at the turn of the century and prior to his term as governor, Kirman was an assemblyman from Ormsby County in 1899, regent of the university, 1902-1904, and mayor of Reno, 1907-1909. Throughout his life, he was active in banking, business and raising livestock. He died on January 19, 1959.
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MORLEY ISAAC GRISWOLD 1934-1935
Born in Elko, Nevada, on October 10, 1890, Morley Griswold was the third Nevada-born governor. He began his law practice in Elko in 1915 after being admitted to the Nevada bar. He was elected to two terms as lieutenant governor and became Acting-Governor March 21, 1934. He lost the election later that year and did not run for public office again. He practiced law in Reno until his death October 3, 1951.
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FREDERICK BENNETT BALZAR 1927-1934
Frederick Balzar was the second native Nevadan to serve as governor. He was born on June 15, 1880 in Virginia City and worked as a miner, railroad conductor and store owner before becoming governor. During his administration, he signed Nevada's open gambling law and the six weeks divorce law. He was the only governor to pass away in the governor's mansion. He died there on March 21, 1934.
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JAMES GRAVES SCRUGHAM 1923-1927
A native of Kentucky, James Scrugham was born in Lexington on January 19, 1880. He came to Nevada to become an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Nevada in 1903, serving as dean from 1914 to 1917. Before becoming governor, Scrugham served as State Engineer and a Public Service Commissioner. After his term as governor, he was the publisher of the Nevada State Journal until 1932, when he was elected to the U.S. Congress (1933-1943) and the U.S. Senate (1943-1945). He died in office on June 2, 1945.
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EMMET DERBY BOYLE 1915-1923
Emmet Boyle was the first Nevada-born Governor, born in Gold Hill on July 26, 1879. Before his election as governor, Boyle served as State Engineer and a member of the Tax Commission. During his two terms as governor many progressive programs were initiated for the benefit of children, women and workers. Governor Boyle died in Reno on January 3, 1926.
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TASKER LOWNDES ODDIE 1911-1915
Tasker Oddie was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 24, 1870 and came to Nevada to look after the business interests of his New York employer, the prominent and wealthy Stokes family. He became a member of the Nevada bar in 1898 and served as district attorney for Nye County. During the Tonopah mining boom at the turn of the century he became the manager of the Tonopah Mining Company. After his term as governor, Oddie was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1920 and re-elected in 1926. He died in San Francisco on February 18, 1950.
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DENVER SYLVESTER DICKERSON 1908-1911
Born in Millville, Shasta County, California, on January 24, 1872 Denver Dickerson came to Nevada after serving in the Spanish American War. He served as clerk and recorder of White Pine County and later owned and edited the White Pine News and Ely Mining Expositor. After his term as acting-governor, Dickerson was appointed superintendent of the state police and ex-officio warden of the state prison. He served as Superintendent of the state prison until his death on November 28, 1925.
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JOHN SPARKS 1903-1908
"Honest John" Sparks was a native of Mississippi, born August 30, 1843. Before coming to Nevada he embarked in the cattle business in Texas and Wyoming. He became a rancher in Elko County and later bought the Alamo Ranch near Reno where he lived during his term as governor. He was elected governor on the Silver-Democrat ticket in 1902 and re-elected in 1906, commuting to Carson City on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. He died in office May 22, 1908.
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REINHOLD SADLER 1896-1903
After the death of Governor Jones, Reinhold Sadler became Acting-Governor and was elected Governor in 1898. He was Nevada's third foreign born governor, born in Czarnikau, Posen Province, Prussia, on January 10, 1848. When he immigrated to America, he lived in Virginia City, Austin, Hamilton and finally Eureka. After two unsuccessful campaigns for state offices, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor as a candidate for the newly formed Silver Party. Reinhold Sadler died in Eureka on January 30, 1906.
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JOHN EDWARD JONES 1895-1896
John E. Jones was Nevada's second foreign born governor, being born in Montgomeryshire, Wales, on December 5, 1840. His family settled in Iowa in 1856 and Jones came west while working on the Union Pacific Railroad in 1865, finally settling in Eureka, Nevada, in 1869. He worked in mining and agriculture until 1883 and served two terms as Surveyor-General of the State before being elected governor. Governor Jones died in office April 10, 1896.
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ROSWELL KEYES COLCORD 1891-1895
Nevada's seventh governor was born in Seaport, Waldo County, Maine, on April 25, 1839 where he was apprenticed to a ship-builder and became a carpenter. He came west to California in 1856, later to Aurora, Nevada, in 1860, and finally to Virginia City in 1863 where he became a successful mining engineer. Following his term as governor, he served as the Superintendent of the U.S. Mint from 1898 to 1911. He died in Carson City on October 30, 1939 at the age of one hundred.
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FRANK BELL 1890-1891
Born in Toronto, Canada, on January 28,1840, Frank Bell came to Nevada when he was supervising the construction of the transcontinental telegraph through Nevada in 1858 to 1860. He was one of the operators to telegraph Nevada's constitution to Washington, D.C. in 1864. Bell served as acting governor when Governor Stevenson signed a disability certificate on September 1, 1890 until the inauguration of Governor Colcord. He was the first foreign born governor of the state. Bell died in his daughter's Oakland home on February 13, 1927.
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CHARLES CLARK STEVENSON 1887-1890
Charles Stevenson was born in Phelps, Ontario County, New York, in 1826. In 1859 he came to Nevada where he worked in mining, milling and agriculture. He served three terms in the State Senate representing Storey County and eleven years as Regent of the University of Nevada before being elected governor in 1886. Governor Stevenson died in office on September 21, 1890.
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JEWETT WILLIAM ADAMS 1883-1887
Born at South Hero, Vermont, on August 6, 1835, Jewett Adams came west with the California gold rush. He worked in the mines and owned a general store before moving to Nevada in 1864 where worked in mining, freighting and cattle raising. He served two terms as lieutenant governor, one term as governor and later was Superintendent of the U.S. Mint in Carson City. The Adams family moved to San Francisco, California, in 1915 where Jewett Adams died June 18, 1920.
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JOHN HENRY KINKEAD 1879-1883
A native of Somerset County Pennsylvania, John Kinkead was born on December 10, 1826. He came to Carson City on 1859 to establish a branch of his father-in-law's mercantile firm. He served as territorial treasurer in Nevada before becoming Nevada's fourth governor. In 1884 he was appointed the first governor of the District of Alaska. One year later he returned to Carson City where he lived until his death on August 15, 1904.
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LEWIS RICE BRADLEY 1871-1879
L.R. Bradley was born in Orange County, Virginia on February 18, 1805. He brought his family west to California in 1852 and to Nevada ten years later where he was engaged in the cattle business in Elko County. He served two terms as governor and was narrowly defeated for a third term in 1878. Ill health prevented him from re-entering politics and ranching. He died in Elko on March 21, 1879.
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HENRY GOODE BLASDEL 1864-1871
Born on January 29, 1825 near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Henry Blasdel worked as a farmer, storekeeper and river boat captain before bringing his family to Nevada in 1861. He was active in mining and milling both before and after his six years as governor. He moved his family to Oakland, California, in 1891 where he died in his home on July 26, 1900.
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JAMES WARREN NYE 1861-1864
James Nye was Nevada Territory's only governor. He was born in DeRuyter, Madison County, New York on June 10, 1815. Raised in New York, he was President of the New York Metropolitan Board of Police when he received his appointment from President Abraham Lincoln. He left his family in New York during his term in office and reunited with them when he was chosen one of Nevada's first U.S. Senators. He served until 1873. Nye died on December 25, 1876 in White Plains, New York.
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