List of governors of the Gold Coast explained
This is a list of colonial administrators in the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) from the start of English presence in 1621 until Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. In addition to the Gold Coast Colony, the governor of the Gold Coast was for most of the period also responsible for the administration of the Ashanti Colony, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate and the League of Nations/United Nations mandate/trust territory of British Togoland.
Governors of the Gold Coast (1621–1751)
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|
| Sir William St John | 1621 | 1623 |
| William Greenhill | 1660 | Unknown |
| Henry Greenhill | 1680 | 1685 |
| Henry Nurse | 1685 | 1695 |
| John Bloome | 1691 | 1697 |
| Baggs | 1697 | 1701 |
| Sir Dalby Thomas | 1703 | 1711 |
|
Governors of the Committee of Merchants of the Gold Coast (1751–1822)
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|
| Thomas Melvil | 23 June 1751 | 23 January 1756 |
| William Tymewell | 23 January 1756 | 17 February 1756 |
| | 17 February 1756 | 15 October 1757 |
| Nassau Senior | 15 October 1757 | 10 May 1761 |
| Charles Bell | 10 May 1761 | 15 August 1763 |
| | 15 August 1763 | 1 March 1766 |
| | 1 March 1766 | 11 August 1766 |
| Gilbert Petrie | 11 August 1766 | 21 April 1769 |
| | 21 April 1769 | 11 August 1770 |
| | 20 January 1777 | 25 March 1780 |
| John Roberts | 25 March 1780 | 20 May 1781 |
| John B. Weuves | 20 May 1781 | 29 April 1782 |
| | 29 April 1782 | 29 January 1784 |
| | 29 January 1784 | 24 January 1787 |
| | 24 January 1787 | 27 April 1787 |
| | 27 April 1787 | 20 June 1789 |
| | 20 June 1789 | 15 November 1791 |
| | 15 November 1791 | 31 March 1792 |
| | 31 March 1792 | 16 December 1798 |
| | 16 December 1798 | 4 January 1799 |
| John Gordon | 4 January 1799 | 28 April 1800 |
| Archibald Dalzel | 28 April 1800 | 30 September 1802 |
| Jacob Mould | 30 September 1802 | 8 February 1805 |
| George Torrane | 8 February 1805 | 4 December 1807 |
| Edward White | 4 December 1807 | 21 April 1816 |
| | 21 April 1816 | 19 January 1817 |
| | 19 January 1817 | 27 March 1822 |
|
Governors of the Gold Coast (1822–1828)
- Sir Charles MacCarthy, 27 March 1822 – 17 May 1822, first time
- James Chisholm, 17 May 1822–December 1822, first time
- Sir Charles MacCarthy, December 1822–21 January 1824, second time
- James Chisholm, 21 January 1824 – 17 October 1824, second time
- Edward Purdon, 17 October 1824 – 22 March 1825
- Major-general Sir Charles Turner, 22 March 1825 – 8 March 1826
- Sir Neil Campbell, 18 May 1826 – 15 November 1826
- Major Henry John Ricketts, 15 November 1826 – 11 October 1827, first time
- Hugh Lumley, 11 October 1827 – 10 March 1828
- George Hingston, 10 March 1828 – 5 June 1828
- Major Henry John Ricketts, 5 June 1828 – 25 June 1828, second time
Governors of the Committee of Merchants of the Gold Coast (1828–1843)
- John Jackson, 25 June 1828 – 19 February 1830
- George Maclean, 19 February 1830 – 26 June 1836, first time
- William Topp, 26 June 1836 – 15 August 1838
- George Maclean, 15 August 1838 – 1843, second time
Governors of the Gold Coast (1843–1960)
In 1843 a governor was appointed subordinate to the Governor of Sierra Leone until 1850. After the Third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873–74, the Gold Coast was formally declared a crown colony.
- Henry Worsley Hill, 1843–8 March 1845
- James Lelley, 8 March 1845 – 15 April 1846
- William Winniett, 15 April 1846 – 31 January 1849, first time
- James Coleman Fitzpatrick, 31 January 1849 – 13 January 1850
- Sir William Winniett, 13 January 1850 – 4 December 1850, second time
- James Bannerman, 4 December 1850 – 14 October 1851
- Stephen John Hill, 14 October 1851–December 1854
- Henry Connor, December 1854–March 1857, acting
- Sir Benjamin Chilley Campbell Pine, March 1857–April 1858
- Henry Bird, April 1858–20 April 1860, acting
- Edward B. Andrews, 20 April 1860 – 14 April 1862
- William A. Ross, 14 April 1862 – 20 September 1862, acting
- Richard Pine, 20 September 1862 – 1865
- Rokeby Jones, 1865, acting
- William Elliot Mockler, 1865, acting
- Edward Conran, April 1865–February 1867
- Herbert Taylor Ussher, February 1867–April 1872, first time
- John Pope Hennessy, April 1872 – 1872
- Charles Spencer Salmon, 1872–September 1872, acting
- Robert William Keate 7 Mar 1873 – 17 Mar 1873
- Robert William Harley, September 1872–2 October 1873
- Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 2 October 1873 – 4 March 1874
- James Maxwell, 4 March 1874 – 30 March 1874, acting
- Charles Lees, 30 March 1874–June 1874, acting, first time
- George Cumine Strahan, June 1874–7 April 1876
- Charles Lees, 7 April 1876–December 1876, acting, second time
- Sanford Freeling, December 1876–13 May 1878, acting to 5 June 1877
- Charles Lees, 13 May 1878–June 1879, acting, third time
- Herbert Taylor Ussher, June 1879–1 December 1880, second time
- William Brandford Griffith, 1 December 1880 – 4 March 1881, acting, first time
- Sir Samuel Rowe, 4 March 1881 – 29 April 1884
- W. A. G. Young, 29 April 1884 – 24 April 1885
- William Brandford Griffith, 24 April 1885 – 7 April 1895, second time
- William Edward Maxwell, 7 April 1895 – 6 December 1897
- Frederick Mitchell Hodgson, 6 December 1897 – 29 August 1900, acting to 29 May 1898
- W. Low, 29 August 1900 – 17 December 1900, acting
- Sir Matthew Nathan, 17 December 1900 – 9 February 1904
- Herbert Bryan, 9 February 1904 – 3 March 1904, acting, first time
- John Pickersgill Rodger, 3 March 1904 – 19 September 1910
- Herbert Bryan, 19 September 1910 – 20 November 1910, acting, second time
- James Jamieson Thorburn, 21 November 1910 – 29 June 1912
- Herbert Bryan, 29 June 1912 – 26 December 1912, acting, third time
- Sir Hugh Charles Clifford, 26 December 1912 – 1 April 1919
- Alexander Ransford Slater, 1 April 1919 – 8 October 1919, acting, first time
- Frederick Gordon Guggisberg, 9 October 1919 – 24 April 1927
- Sir James Crawford Maxwell, 24 April 1927 – 5 June 1927, acting
- John Maxwell, 5 June 1927–July 1927, acting
- Sir Alexander Ransford Slater, July 1927–5 April 1932, second time
- Geoffry Northcote, 5 April 1932 – 29 November 1932, acting, first time
- Sir Shenton Thomas, 30 November 1932 – 13 May 1934
- Geoffry Northcote, 13 May 1934 – 23 October 1934, acting, second time
- Sir Arnold Weinholt Hodson, 24 October 1934 – 24 October 1941
- Sir George Ernest London, 24 October 1941 – 29 June 1942, acting, first time
- Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns, 29 June 1942 – 2 August 1947
- Sir George Ernest London, 2 August 1947 – 12 January 1948, acting, second time
- Sir Gerald Hallen Creasy, 12 January 1948 – 15 February 1949
- Sir Robert Scott, 15 February 1949 – 28 March 1949, acting, first time
- Thorleif Rattray Orde Mangin, 28 March 1949 – 11 June 1949, acting
- Sir Robert Scott, 11 June 1949 – 11 August 1949, acting, second time
- Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clarke, 11 August 1949 – 6 March 1957.
Governor-General of Ghana (1957–1960)
In 1957, the Gold Coast Colony, the Ashanti Colony, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate and the British Togoland Trust Territory, became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations called Ghana. The Governor-General of Ghana served as the representative of the Queen of Ghana, whose formal title in Ghana was ‘Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ghana and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth’. The entire dominion formed part of Her Majesty's dominions until the country became a republic in 1960.
See also
Sources
- http://www.rulers.org/rulg1.html#ghana
- http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Ghana.html
- http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/goldcoast/goldcoastadmin.htm
