List of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives explained

Post:	Speaker
Body:	the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Insignia:	Seal of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts.svg
Insigniasize:	110px
Insigniacaption:	Seal of the House of Representatives
Insigniaalt:	Seal of the House of Representatives
Incumbent:	Ron Mariano
Incumbentsince:	December 30, 2020
Department:	Government of Massachusetts
Status:	Presiding Officer
Member Of:	General Court
Residence:	None official
Seat:	State House, Boston, Massachusetts
Nominator:	Political parties through majority house caucus
Appointer:	The House
Constituting Instrument:	Constitution of Massachusetts
Deputy:	Speaker pro tempore
Formation:	Original Post: May 30, 1644 Current form: October 25, 1780
Website:	https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Leadership/House

This is a list of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House Resolution. As well as presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leader, and controls the flow of legislation. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in the House. The current house speaker is Ronald Mariano.

Colonial period

Speaker	Years ↑	Town	Electoral history
William Hathorne	nowrap	1644–1645	Salem
George Cooke	1645	Cambridge
William Hathorne	1646	Salem
Robert Bridges	1646	Lynn
Joseph Hills	1647	Mistick Side
William Hathorne	1648	Salem
Richard Russell	1648	Charlestown
Daniel Denison	1649	Ipswich
William Hathorne	1650	Salem
Daniel Gookin	1651	Cambridge
Daniel Denison	nowrap	1651–1652	Ipswich
Humphrey Atherton	1653	Springfield
Richard Russell	1654	Charlestown
Edward Johnson	1655
Richard Russell	1656	Charlestown
William Hathorne	1657	Salem
Richard Russell	1658	Charlestown
Thomas Savage	nowrap	1659–1660
William Hathorne	nowrap	1660–1661	Salem
Thomas Clarke	1662
John Leverett	nowrap	1663–1664	Boston
Thomas Clarke	1665
Richard Waldron	nowrap	1666–1668	Cocheco
Thomas Clarke	nowrap	1669–1670
Thomas Savage	1671	Boston
Thomas Clarke	1672
Richard Waldron	1673	Cocheco
Joshua Hubbard	nowrap	1673–1674
Richard Waldron	nowrap	1674–1675	Cocheco
Peter Bulkeley	nowrap	1675–1676	Concord
Thomas Savage	nowrap	1677–1678	Boston
Richard Waldron	1679	Cocheco	Town became part of New Hampshire
John Richards	nowrap	1679–1680	Dorchester
Daniel Fisher	nowrap	1680–1682	Dedham
Elisha Cooke Sr.	1683	Boston
John Waite	1684	Malden
Isaac Addington	1685	Boston
John Saffin	1686	Boston	General Court adjourned May 21, 1686, did not convene until May or June 1689

Inter-Charter Period

Speaker	Years ↑	Town	Electoral history
Thomas Oakes	1689	Boston
John Bowles	nowrap	1698–1690	Boston
Penn Townsend	nowrap	1690–1691	Salem
William Bond	nowrap	1691–1692	Watertown
Penn Townsend	1692	Salem

Speaker	Years ↑	Town	Electoral history
William Bond	nowrap	1692–1693	Watertown
Nathaniel Byfield	nowrap	1693–1694	Boston
Nehemiah Jewett	nowrap	1694–1695	Rowley
William Bond	nowrap	1695–1696	Watertown
Penn Townsend	nowrap	1696–1697	Salem
Nathaniel Byfield	1698	Rowley
James Converse	nowrap	1699–1700	Woburn
John Leverett	nowrap	1700–1701	Boston
Nehemiah Jewett	nowrap	1701–1702	Rowley
James Converse	nowrap	1702–1705	Woburn
Thomas Oakes	nowrap	1705–1707	Boston
John Burrill	1707	Lynn
Thomas Oliver	nowrap	1708–1709	Cambridge
John Clark	nowrap	1709–1711	Boston
John Burrill	nowrap	1711–1720	Lynn
Elisha Cooke Jr.	1720
Timothy Lindall	nowrap	1720–1721	Boston
John Clark	nowrap	1721–1724	Boston
William Dudley	nowrap	1724–1729	Roxbury
John Quincy	nowrap	1729–1741	Mount Wollaston
William Fairfield	1741	Wenham
Thomas Cushing II	nowrap	1742–1746	Boston
Thomas Hutchinson	nowrap	1746–1748	Boston	Resigned when appointed to the Governor's Council
Joseph Dwight	nowrap	1748–1750	Brookfield
Thomas Hubbard	nowrap	1750–1759	Waltham
Samuel White	nowrap	May 30, 1759 – May 28, 1760	Taunton
James Otis Sr.	nowrap	May 28, 1760 – May 26, 1762	Barnstable	Resigned when appointed to the Governor's Council
Timothy Ruggles	nowrap	May 26, 1762 – May 25, 1764	Rochester
Samuel White	nowrap	May 25, 1764 – June 11, 1764	Taunton
Thomas Clap pro tem	nowrap	June 11, 1764 – May 29, 1765
Samuel White	nowrap	May 29, 1764 – May 28, 1766	Taunton
James Otis Jr.	nowrap	May 28, 1766 – May 28, 1766	Barnstable
Thomas Cushing	nowrap	May 28, 1766 – 1774	Boston

Speaker	Years ↑	Electoral History
John Hancock	nowrap	1774-1775	Left office to attend the Second Continental Congress where he served as President
Joseph Warren	nowrap	1775	Died at the Battle of Bunker Hill
James Warren	nowrap	1775-1780

	Speaker	Party	Years ↑	City or Town (District)	Electoral history
1	Caleb Davis		None	1780–1782	Boston	Resigned
2	Nathaniel Gorham		None	1782–1783	Charlestown
3	Tristram Dalton		None	1783–1784	Newbury	Elected to State Senate
4	Samuel Allyne Otis		None	1784–1785	Barnstable
5	Nathaniel Gorham		None	1785–1786	Charlestown
6	Artemas Ward		None	1786–1787	Shrewsbury
7	James Warren		None	1787–1788	Plymouth
8	Theodore Sedgwick		Pro-Administration	1788–1789	Sheffield	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
9	David Cobb		Pro-Administration	1789–1793	Taunton	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
10	Edward Robbins		Democratic-Republican	1793–1802	Boston	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
11	John Coffin Jones		Federalist	1802–1803	Boston
12	Harrison Gray Otis		Federalist	1803–1805	Boston	Elected to the State Senate
13	Timothy Bigelow		Federalist	1805–1806	Worcester	Party lost majority
14	Perez Morton		Democratic-Republican	1806–1808	Dorchester	Party lost majority
15	Timothy Bigelow		Federalist	1808–1810	Worcester	Party lost majority
16	Perez Morton		Democratic-Republican	1810–1811	Dorchester	Resigned
17	Joseph Story		Democratic-Republican	1811–1812	Salem	Resigned when appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
18	Eleazer Ripley		Democratic-Republican	1812	Waterville	Joined United States Army
19	Timothy Bigelow		Federalist	1812–1820	Worcester
20	Elijah H. Mills		Federalist	1820–1821	Northampton	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
21	Josiah Quincy III		Federalist	1821–1822	Boston	Resigned to become Judge of Boston Municipal Court
22	Luther Lawrence		Federalist	1822	Lowell	Party lost majority
23	Levi Lincoln, Jr.		National Republican	1822–1823	Worcester	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
24	William C. Jarvis		National Republican	1823–1825	Woburn	Party lost majority
25	Timothy Fuller		Democratic-Republican	1825–1826	Cambridgeport	Party lost majority
26	William C. Jarvis		National Republican	1826–1828	Woburn
27	William B. Calhoun		National Republican	1828–1834	Springfield	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
28	Julius Rockwell		Whig	1835–1837	Pittsfield	Resigned when appointed commissioner of the Bank of Massachusetts
29	Robert Charles Winthrop		Whig	1838–1840	Boston	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
30	George Ashmun		Whig	1841	Blandford
31	Thomas H. Kinnicutt		Whig	1842	Worcester
32	Daniel P. King		Whig	1843	South Danvers
33	Thomas H. Kinnicutt		Whig	1844	Worcester	Resigned
34	Samuel H. Walley, Jr.		Whig	1844–1846	Boston
35	Ebenezer Bradbury		Whig	1847	Newburyport
36	Francis Crowninshield		Whig	1848–1849	Boston
37	Ensign H. Kellogg		Whig	1850	Pittsfield
38	Nathaniel Prentice Banks	Democratic	1851–1852	Waltham	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
39	George Bliss		Whig	1853	Springfield
40	Otis P. Lord		Whig	1854	Salem	Party lost majority
41	Daniel C. Eddy		Know Nothing	1855	Lowell
42	Charles A. Phelps		Know Nothing	1856–1857	Boston	Elected to the Massachusetts Senate; Party Lost election
43	Julius Rockwell		Republican	1858	Pittsfield	Resigned when appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court
44	Charles Hale		Republican	1859	Boston
45	John A. Goodwin		Republican	1860–1861	Lowell
46	Alexander Hamilton Bullock		Republican	1862–1865	Worcester	Elected Governor of Massachusetts
47	James M. Stone		Republican	1866–1867	Charlestown
48	Harvey Jewell		Republican	1868–1871	Boston
49	John E. Sanford		Republican	1872–1875	Taunton
50	John Davis Long		Republican	1876–1878	Hingham	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
51	Levi C. Wade		Republican	1879	Newton
52	Charles J. Noyes		Republican	1880–1882	Boston (14th Suffolk)
53	George Augustus Marden		Republican	1883–1884	Lowell
54	John Q. A. Brackett		Republican	nowrap	January 7, 1885 – 1886	Boston (17th Suffolk)^[1]	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
55	Charles J. Noyes		Republican	1887–1888	Boston (14th Suffolk)
56	William Emerson Barrett		Republican	1889–1893	Melrose (11th Middlesex)	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
57	George von Lengerke Meyer		Republican	1894–1896	Boston (9th Suffolk)
58	John Lewis Bates		Republican	1897–1899	Boston (1st Suffolk)	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
59	James J. Myers		Republican	1900–1903	Cambridge (1st Middlesex)	Retired
60	Louis A. Frothingham		Republican	1904–1905	Boston (11th Suffolk)	Left House to run for governor
61	John N. Cole		Republican	1906–1908	Andover (8th Essex)	Left House to run for Lieutenant Governor
62	Joseph Walker		Republican	1909–1911	Brookline (2nd Norfolk)	Left House to run for governor
63	Grafton D. Cushing		Republican	1912–1914	Boston (11th Suffolk)	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
64	Channing H. Cox		Republican	1915–1918	Boston (10th Suffolk)	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
65	Joseph E. Warner		Republican	1919–1920	Taunton (4th Bristol)	Lost primary for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts to Alvan Fuller
66	Benjamin Loring Young		Republican	1921–1924	Weston (13th Middlesex)
67	John C. Hull		Republican	1925–1928	Leominster (11th Worcester)	Appointed First Securities Director in the wake of The Great Depression (1930–36)
68	Leverett Saltonstall		Republican	1929–1936	Chestnut Hill (5th Middlesex)	Defeated for election as Lieutenant Governor by Francis E. Kelly ^[2]
69	Horace T. Cahill		Republican	1937–1938	Braintree (6th Norfolk)	Elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
70	Christian Herter		Republican	1939–1942	Boston (5th Suffolk)	Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
71	Rudolph King		Republican	1943–1944	Millis (8th Norfolk)	Resigned to run become Registrar of Motor Vehicles
72	Frederick Willis		Republican	1945–1948	Saugus (10th Essex)	Party lost majority
73	Thomas P. O'Neill		Democratic	1949–1952	Cambridge (3rd Middlesex)	Party lost majority; O'Neill elected to U.S. House of Representatives
74	Charles Gibbons		Republican	1953–1954	Stoneham (22nd Middlesex)	Party lost majority
75	Michael F. Skerry		Democratic	1955–1957	Medford (27th Middlesex)	Resigned when appointed Clerk of the Malden District Court
76	John F. Thompson		Democratic	1958–1964	Ludlow (2nd Hampden)	Resigned after being indicted on charges of conspiracy and bribery
77	John Davoren		Democratic	1965–1967	Milford (9th Worcester)	Resigned when appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth
78	Robert H. Quinn		Democratic	1967–1969	Boston (9th Suffolk)	Elected Massachusetts Attorney General
79	David M. Bartley		Democratic	1969–1975	Holyoke (7th Hampden)	Resigned to become President of Holyoke Community College
80	Thomas W. McGee		Democratic	1975–1984	Lynn (20th Essex)	Defeated by Keverian in leadership challenge
81	George Keverian		Democratic	1985–1990	Everett (39th Middlesex)	Retired to run for State Treasurer
82	Charles Flaherty		Democratic	1991 – April 9, 1996	Cambridge (27th Middlesex)	Resigned: pleaded guilty to tax evasion
83	Thomas Finneran		Democratic	nowrap	April 9, 1996 – September 28, 2004	Mattapan (12th Suffolk)	Resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice
84	Salvatore DiMasi		Democratic	nowrap	September 28, 2004 – January 27, 2009	Boston (3rd Suffolk)	Resigned: convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and extortion
85	Robert DeLeo		Democratic	nowrap	January 27, 2009 – December 29, 2020	Winthrop (19th Suffolk)	Resigned to accept position at Northeastern University
86	Ron Mariano		Democratic	nowrap	December 30, 2020 – present	Quincy (3rd Norfolk)	Current speaker

Notes

1. Prior to 1857, representatives were selected by a majority of votes at a town meeting. Since 1857, representatives have been elected by district.^[3]

Sources

Book: Manual for the General Court . Massachusetts General Court . 2005–2006 . 338–350 . Organization of the Legislature Since 1780.

Notes and References

Hurd . Duane Hamilton . 1890 . History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men Vol. 1. lviii . J. W. Lewis & CO. . Philadelphia, PA.
Web site: Bioguide Search.
Book: History of Essex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1. 1888. J. W. Lewis & Company. 414. Duane Hamilton Hurd. April 2, 2013.