List of governors of the Bahamas

This is a list of governors of the Bahamas. The first English settlement in the Bahamas was on Eleuthera. In 1670, the king granted the Bahamas to the lords proprietors of the Province of Carolina, but the islands were left to themselves. The local pirates ruled a de facto 'Privateers' Republic' for several years; in 1717 the Bahamas became a British crown colony, and the pirates were driven out.

During the American War of Independence, the Bahamas were briefly occupied by both American and Spanish forces. In 1964, the Bahamas achieved self-governance, and, in 1973, full independence.

List

Image	Governor	From	To
Governors of Eleuthera (1648–1657):
	William Sayle	1648	1657
Proprietary governors of the Bahama Islands (1670–1706):
	Hugh Wentworth	1671	December 1671
	John Wentworth	December 1671	1676
	Charles Chillingworth	1676	1677
	Robert Clarke	1677	1682
	Richard Lilburne	1682	1684
British rule temporarily disrupted due to joint Spanish and French raid on Charlestown
	Thomas Bridges	1686	1690
	Cadwallader Jones	1690	1694
	Nicholas Trott	1694	1697
	Nicholas Webb	1697	1699
	Read Elding (acting)	1699	1701
	Elias Haskett	1701	1701
	Ellis Lightfoot	1701	1703
	Edward Birch	1704	1704
Privateer's Republic (1706–1718)
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1718–1776)
	Woodes Rogers	26 July 1718	1721
	George Phenney	1721	1728
	Woodes Rogers	August 1729	16 July 1732
	Richard Fitzwilliam (acting)	1734	1738
	John Tinker	1741	1758^[1]
	John Gambier (acting)	1758	1760
	William Shirley	1760^[2]	1775
	Montfort Browne	1775	3 March 1776
Commandant of the Bahama Islands (during American occupation, 1776)
	Samuel Nicholas	3 March 1776	17 March 1776
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1776–1782)
	John Gambier (acting)	1776	1778
	John Robert Maxwell	1780	8 May 1782
Governors of Louisiana (during Spanish occupation)
	Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez	8 May 1782	19 April 1783
Royal governors of the Bahama Islands (1783–1969)
	Andrew Deveaux (acting)	19 April 1783	1783
	John Robert Maxwell	1783	1784
	James Edward Powell (Lieutenant-governor)	1784	1786
	John Brown (acting)	1786	1787
	John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore	1787	1796
	Robert Hunt (acting)	1796	14 February 1797
	John Forbes (Lieutenant-governor)	14 February 1797	June 1797
	Lieutenant-General William Dowdeswell	20 November 1797	1801
	John Halkett	1801	1804
	Charles Cameron	8 May 1804	1820
	Lewis Grant	1821	1829
	Sir James Carmichael Smyth, 1st Baronet	1829	1833
	Blayney Townley Balfour	1833	1835
	William MacBean George Colebrooke	1835	1837
	Sir Francis Cockburn	1837	1844
	George Benvenuto Mathew	1844	1849
	John Gregory	1849	1854
	Sir Alexander Bannerman	1854	1857
	Charles John Bayley	1857	1864
	Rawson William Rawson	1864	1869
	Sir James Walker	1869	1871
	Sir George Cumine Strahan	1871	1873
	Sir John Pope Hennessy	13 March 1873^[3]	1874
	Sir William Robinson	1874	1880
	Jeremiah Thomas Fitzgerald Callaghan	1880	1881
	Sir Charles Cameron Lees	1882^[4]	January 1884
	Sir Henry Arthur Blake	4 January 1884	1887
	Sir Ambrose Shea	1887^[4]	1895
	Sir William Frederick Haynes Smith	1895^[4]	1898
	Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter	1898^[4]	1904
	Sir William Grey-Wilson	29 November 1904	1912
	Sir George Basil Haddon-Smith	29 October 1912	1914
	Sir William Allardyce	15 June 1914	1920
	Sir Harry Edward Spiller Cordeaux	8 December 1920	1926
	Major Sir Charles Orr	December 1926	January 1932
	Sir Bede Clifford^[5]	10 January 1932	23 July 1937
	Sir Charles Dundas	27 November 1937^[5]	1940
	Major General Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor^[6]	18 August 1940	30 April 1945
	Sir William Lindsay Murphy	28 July 1945	21 July 1949^[7]
	F. A. Evans (Acting Governor)	22 July 1949^[7]	31 December 1949^[7]
	Sir George Sandford	17 February 1950^[8]	15 September 1950^[8]
	Major General Sir Robert Neville	6 December 1950	1953
	Daniel Knox, 6th Earl of Ranfurly	21 December 1953	19 December 1956^[9]
	Sir Raynor Arthur	1 April 1957^[9]	14 June 1960^[10]
	Sir Robert Stapledon	18 July 1960^[10]	April 1964^[11]
	Ralph Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton	3 June 1964	1 November 1968
	Sir Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce	1 November 1968	1969
Governors of the Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands (1969–1973)
	Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 8th Baron Thurlow	1969	1972
	Sir John Paul	14 May 1972	10 July 1973
On 10 July 1973 the Bahamas gained full independence from the United Kingdom and the viceroy became the Governor-General of the Bahamian Monarch.

References

^ More Monumental Inscriptions: Tombstones of the British West Indies by Vere Langford Oliver: "His Excellency John Tinker died 10 July 1758 aged 58. 18 years Governor and Commander-in-Chief over these Islands"
^ Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Volume 27 by Isaac Kimber and Edward Kimber. "William Shirley is appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands in the room of John Tinker deceased - 6 November 1758"
^ "Appointment of John Pope Hennessy as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands". The Edinburgh Gazette (8355): 165. 18 March 1873.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The Dominion Office and Colonial Office List 1939. London. 1939. p. 242.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Colonial Office (1939). Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of the Bahamas for 1937. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 29. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
^ "Duke of Windsor: Bids Farewell to Bahamas". The Daily Advertiser. 1 May 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 17 January 2025. Monday: Farewelling the people of the Bahamas in a three-minute broadcast, the Duke of Windsor assured them "you have not seen the last of us".
^ ^a ^b ^c Colonial Office (1950). Annual Report on the Bahamas for the Year 1949. HM Stationery Office, London. p. 4. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Colonial Office (1952). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1950 and 1951. HM Stationery Office, London. p. 4. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Colonial Office (1959). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1956 and 1957. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2025. the Earl of Ranfurly, K. C. M. G., Governor of the Bahamas, left the colony on leave on the 19th December, 1956 on the completion of his tenure in office. He was succeeded on 1st April, 1957 by Sir Raynor Arthur, K. C. M. G., C. V. O.
^ ^a ^b Colonial Office (1961). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1958 and 1959. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 5.
^ Colonial Office (1966). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1964-1965. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 6.

Sources

Wettenhall, R. L. "Gregory, John (1795–1853)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Natl Centre of Biography, Australian Natl University. Retrieved 15 March 2020.

External links

rulers.org

[1] More Monumental Inscriptions: Tombstones of the British West Indies by Vere Langford Oliver: "His Excellency John Tinker died 10 July 1758 aged 58. 18 years Governor and Commander-in-Chief over these Islands"

[2] Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Volume 27 by Isaac Kimber and Edward Kimber. "William Shirley is appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands in the room of John Tinker deceased - 6 November 1758"

[3] "Appointment of John Pope Hennessy as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahama Islands". The Edinburgh Gazette (8355): 165. 18 March 1873.

[:1-4] The Dominion Office and Colonial Office List 1939. London. 1939. p. 242.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[:4-5] Colonial Office (1939). Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of the Bahamas for 1937. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 29. Retrieved 18 January 2025.

[6] "Duke of Windsor: Bids Farewell to Bahamas". The Daily Advertiser. 1 May 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 17 January 2025. Monday: Farewelling the people of the Bahamas in a three-minute broadcast, the Duke of Windsor assured them "you have not seen the last of us".

[:5-7] Colonial Office (1950). Annual Report on the Bahamas for the Year 1949. HM Stationery Office, London. p. 4. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

[:0-8] Colonial Office (1952). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1950 and 1951. HM Stationery Office, London. p. 4. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

[:2-9] Colonial Office (1959). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1956 and 1957. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 3. Retrieved 2 January 2025. the Earl of Ranfurly, K. C. M. G., Governor of the Bahamas, left the colony on leave on the 19th December, 1956 on the completion of his tenure in office. He was succeeded on 1st April, 1957 by Sir Raynor Arthur, K. C. M. G., C. V. O.

[:3-10] Colonial Office (1961). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1958 and 1959. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 5.

[11] Colonial Office (1966). Report on the Bahamas for the Years 1964-1965. London, England: H M Stationery Office. p. 6.

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