List of mayors of Washington, D.C. facts for kids

This page lists the many leaders who have guided Washington, D.C. over the years. From early commissioners who planned the city to the elected mayors we have today, D.C. has had different ways of being governed.

The current leader of Washington, D.C., is called the Mayor of the District of Columbia. This person is chosen by the people of D.C. in an election every four years. Even though D.C. is not a state, its mayor has many duties similar to a state governor. The current mayor is Muriel Bowser, who has been in office since January 2, 2015.

How D.C. Has Been Governed

The story of D.C.'s leaders began in 1790. Back then, the U.S. government decided to create a special capital district. The President chose three people, called commissioners, to find and plan this new area. From 1791 to 1802, these three commissioners were in charge.

In 1801, the U.S. Congress took direct control of the District. The first group of commissioners was replaced. At this time, D.C. was made up of different parts: two cities (Georgetown and Washington City) and two rural counties. Each city had its own mayor. The counties were managed by groups called "levy courts."

In 1846, the part of D.C. that used to be Alexandria went back to Virginia. This left D.C. with the cities of Washington and Georgetown, plus Washington County.

A big change happened in 1871. Congress decided to combine all these separate parts into one single government for the whole District. This new government was led by a Governor. Only two governors served before this system was changed again in 1874.

After the governors, D.C. was led by a temporary group of three commissioners, chosen by the President. This system became permanent in 1878 and lasted a long time, until 1967. Then, a single mayor-commissioner and a city council were appointed by the President.

Finally, in 1974, a law called the District of Columbia Home Rule Act was passed. This was a huge step because it allowed the people of D.C. to elect their own mayor and city council for the first time!

Early Leaders: Commissioners of the Federal City (1791–1802)

In 1790, a law was passed to create the new capital city. This law set up a group of three commissioners. Their job was to survey the land, buy property, and oversee the building of all the federal government buildings. They were like the first city planners and builders for Washington, D.C.

These commissioners didn't really manage the day-to-day rules for the people living there. Local matters were handled by "Levy Courts," which were made up of Justices of the Peace. These justices were chosen by the governors of Maryland and Virginia at first, and later by the President.

#	Image	Member	Term began	Term ended	State	Political party
1		David Stuart	January 22, 1791	September 12, 1794	Virginia	Independent
2		Thomas Johnson	January 22, 1791	August 23, 1794	Maryland	Federalist
3		Daniel Carroll	March 4, 1791	May 21, 1795	Maryland	Independent
4		Gustavus Scott	August 23, 1794	December 25, 1800	Maryland	Independent
5		William Thornton	September 12, 1794	July 1, 1802	Pennsylvania	Independent
6		Alexander White	May 21, 1795	July 1, 1802	Virginia	Pro-Administration
7		William Cranch	January 14, 1801	March 3, 1801	Massachusetts	Federalist
8		Tristram Dalton	March 10, 1801	July 1, 1802	Massachusetts	Pro-Administration

Mayors of the City of Washington (1802–1871)

The City of Washington, which is now part of modern D.C., got its own official government in 1802. The Mayor of Washington was in charge of city services, making appointments, and setting local taxes. However, a big part of their job was asking Congress for money to run the city.

At first, from 1802 to 1812, the U.S. President chose the mayor. Then, from 1812 to 1820, a city council picked the mayor. Finally, from 1820 until 1871, the people of Washington City got to vote for their mayor. The old boundaries of Washington City were Rock Creek to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, and the Anacostia River to the east and south.

During this time, the larger Washington County (which included Washington City and Georgetown) was still managed by a Levy Court. This court was made up of Justices of the Peace chosen by the President. In 1871, when Congress combined all the local governments in D.C., the Mayor of Washington and the Levy Court were both ended.

Image	Mayor	Term began	Term ended	Political party
	Robert Brent	June 1, 1802	June 8, 1812	Democratic-Republican Party
	Daniel Rapine	June 8, 1812	June 14, 1813	Independent
	James H. Blake	June 14, 1813	June 9, 1817	Independent
	Benjamin G. Orr	June 9, 1817	June 14, 1819	Independent
	Samuel N. Smallwood	June 14, 1819	June 14, 1822	Independent
	Thomas Carbery	June 14, 1822	June 14, 1824	Independent
	Samuel N. Smallwood	June 14, 1824	September 30, 1824	Independent
	Roger C. Weightman	October 4, 1824	June 11, 1827	Independent
	Joseph Gales	June 11, 1827	June 14, 1830	Independent
	John Peter Van Ness	June 14, 1830	June 9, 1834	Democratic-Republican
	William A. Bradley	June 9, 1834	June 13, 1836	Independent
	Peter Force	June 13, 1836	June 8, 1840	Whig Party
	William Winston Seaton	June 8, 1840	June 10, 1850	Whig Party
	Walter Lenox	June 10, 1850	June 14, 1852	Independent
	John W. Maury	June 14, 1852	June 12, 1854	Democratic
	John T. Towers	June 12, 1854	June 9, 1856	Know Nothing
	William B. Magruder	June 9, 1856	June 14, 1858	Anti-Know-Nothing-Party
	James G. Berret	June 14, 1858	August 26, 1861	Anti-Know-Nothing-Party, Democratic
	Richard Wallach	August 26, 1861	June 8, 1868	Republican
	Sayles J. Bowen	June 8, 1868	June 7, 1870	Republican
	Matthew G. Emery	June 7, 1870	February 28, 1871	Republican

Mayors of Georgetown (1790–1871)

Before it became part of D.C., Georgetown was a town in Maryland. From 1751 to 1789, it was run by commissioners. In 1790, Georgetown got a new government with a Mayor, a Recorder, Aldermen, and a Common Council.

Georgetown became a town within the District of Columbia in 1801. From 1802 until 1871, the mayors of Georgetown were elected for one-year terms. There was no limit to how many terms they could serve. Like Washington City, Georgetown's local government stopped existing in 1871. This happened when Congress combined all three parts of D.C. into one single government.

#	Image	Mayor	Term began	Term ended
1		Robert Peter	1790	1791
2		Thomas Beale	1791	1792
3		Uriah Forrest	1792	1793
4		John Threlkeld	1793	1794
5		Pedro Casenave	1794	1795
6		Thomas Turner	1795	1796
7		Daniel Reintzel	1796	1797
8		Lloyd Beall	1797	1799
9		Daniel Reintzel	1799	1804
10		Thomas Corcoran	1805	1806
11		Daniel Reintzel	1806	1807
12		Thomas Corcoran	1808	1810
13		David Wiley	1811	1812
14		Thomas Corcoran	1812	1813
15		John Peter	1813	1818
16		Henry Foxall	1819	1820
17		John Peter	1821	1822
18		John Cox	1823	1845
19		Henry Addison	1845	1857
20		Richard R. Crawford	1857	1861
21		Henry Addison	1861	1867
22		Charles D. Welch	1867	1869
23		Henry M. Sweeney	1869	1871

Governors of the District of Columbia (1871–1874)

In 1871, Congress created a new type of government for the entire District of Columbia. This government was led by a Governor, who was chosen by the President of the United States for a four-year term. However, this system didn't last long. There were problems, and the government was stopped in 1874.

#	Image	Governor		Term began	Term ended	Political party
1			Henry D. Cooke	February 28, 1871	September 13, 1873	Republican
2			Alexander R. Shepherd	September 13, 1873	June 20, 1874	Republican

Temporary Commissioners of the District of Columbia (1874–1878)

After the governors, D.C. was managed by a temporary group of three commissioners. These commissioners had both the power to make laws and to carry them out. They were all chosen by the President. This temporary system lasted from 1874 to 1878.

#	Image	Member		Term began	Term ended	Political party
1			William Dennison	July 1, 1874	July 1, 1878	Republican
2			Henry T. Blow	July 1, 1874	December 31, 1874	Republican
3			John H. Ketcham	July 3, 1874	June 30, 1877	Republican
4			Seth Ledyard Phelps	January 18, 1875	June 30, 1878	Republican
5			Thomas Barbour Bryan	December 3, 1877	July 1, 1878	Republican

Presidents of the Board of Commissioners (1878–1967)

In 1878, the system of commissioners became permanent. D.C. was run by a new group of three commissioners, all chosen by the President. This board included one Democrat, one Republican, and one civil engineer. These three commissioners would then choose one of themselves to be the president of the board. The president of the board was the main leader of the District.

     Denotes an Acting President

#	Image	President		Term began	Term ended	Political party
1			Seth Ledyard Phelps	July 1, 1878	November 29, 1879	Republican
2			Josiah Dent	November 29, 1879	July 17, 1882	Democratic
3			Joseph Rodman West	July 17, 1882	March 29, 1883	Republican
4			James Barker Edmonds	March 29, 1883	January 1, 1886	Democratic
5			William Benning Webb	January 1, 1886	May 21, 1889	Republican
6			John Watkinson Douglass	May 21, 1889	March 1, 1893	Republican
7			John Wesley Ross	March 1, 1893	June 1, 1898	Democratic
8			John Brewer Wight	June 1, 1898	May 9, 1900	Republican
9			Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland	May 9, 1900	January 24, 1910	Republican
10			Cuno Hugo Rudolph	January 24, 1910	February 28, 1913	Republican
11			Oliver Peck Newman	February 28, 1913	October 9, 1917	Democratic
12			Louis Brownlow	October 9, 1917	September 17, 1920	Democratic
			Charles Willauer Kutz	September 17, 1920	September 25, 1920	Independent
13			John Thilman Hendrick	September 25, 1920	March 4, 1921	Democratic
14			Cuno Hugo Rudolph	March 15, 1921	December 4, 1926	Republican
15			Proctor Lambert Dougherty	December 4, 1926	April 10, 1930	Republican
16			Luther Halsey Reichelderfer	April 10, 1930	November 16, 1933	Republican
17			Melvin Colvin Hazen	November 16, 1933	July 15, 1941	Democratic
18			John Russell Young	July 15, 1941	July 29, 1941	Republican
				July 29, 1941	June 2, 1952
19			F. Joseph Donohue	June 2, 1952	April 6, 1953	Democratic
20			Samuel Spencer	April 6, 1953	April 6, 1956	Republican
21			Robert E. McLaughlin	April 6, 1956	July 27, 1961	Republican
22			Walter Nathan Tobriner	July 27, 1961	November 7, 1967	Democratic

Mayor-Commissioner (1967–1975)

In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson changed D.C.'s government again. The three-commissioner system was replaced by a single mayor-commissioner. There was also an assistant mayor-commissioner and a nine-member district council. All these officials were chosen by the President. The mayor-commissioner served for four years.

The mayor-commissioner had more power than the old Board of Commissioners. They could combine D.C. agencies and move money between them. The mayor-commissioner could also veto (reject) decisions made by the council. However, the council could overrule a veto with a three-fourths vote.

Walter E. Washington was the first mayor-commissioner. This new system was meant to make D.C.'s government more effective.

#	Mayor-Commissioner		Term start	Term end	Party
1		Walter Washington	November 7, 1967	January 2, 1975	Democratic

Mayors of the District of Columbia (1975–Present)

Since 1975, the people of D.C. have been able to elect their own mayor and district council. This was a big step for D.C., giving its residents more control over their local government.

Parties

      Democratic (7)

#	Mayor		Term of office	Party	Term	Previous office
1		Walter Washington (1915–2003)	January 2, 1975 – January 2, 1979	Democratic	1 (1974)	Mayor-Commissioner of the District of Columbia
2		Marion Barry (1936–2014)	January 2, 1979 – January 2, 1991	Democratic	2 (1978)	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from the at-large district (1975–1979)
					3 (1982)
					4 (1986)
3		Sharon Pratt Kelly (born 1944)	January 2, 1991 – January 2, 1995	Democratic	5 (1990)	Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee (1985–1989)
4		Marion Barry (1936–2014)	January 2, 1995 – January 2, 1999	Democratic	6 (1994)	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 8 (1993–1995)
5		Anthony A. Williams (born 1951)	January 2, 1999 – January 2, 2007	Democratic	7 (1998)	D.C. Chief Financial Officer (1995–1998)
					8 (2002)
6		Adrian Fenty (born 1970)	January 2, 2007 – January 2, 2011	Democratic	9 (2006)	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4 (2001–2007)
7		Vincent C. Gray (born 1942)	January 2, 2011 – January 2, 2015	Democratic	10 (2010)	Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia (2007–2011)
8		Muriel Bowser (born 1972)	January 2, 2015 – Incumbent	Democratic	11 (2014)	Member of the Council of the District of Columbia from Ward 4 (2007–2015)
					12 (2018)
					13 (2022)

See also

• Timeline of Washington, D.C.