Former Governor Biographies
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Biographies of Governors with Statues
Governor Arthur Calvin Mellette
1st Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1889 – 1893
Birth: June 23, 1842, Henry County, Indiana
Death: May 25, 1896, Pittsburg, Kansas
Charles H. Sheldon
2nd Governor of South Dakota
Years in office: 1893 – 1897
Birth: September 12, 1840, Lamoille County, Vermont
Death: October 20, 1898, Deadwood, South Dakota
Andrew E. Lee
3rd Governor of South Dakota
Years in office: 1897 – 1901
Birth: March 18, 1847, Bergen, Norway
Death: March 19, 1934, Vermillion, South Dakota
Governor Charles Nelson Herreid
4th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1901 – 1905
Birth: October 20, 1857, Madison, Wisconsin
Death: July 6, 1928, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Governor Samuel H. Elrod
5th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1905 – 1907
Birth: May 1, 1856, near Coatesville, Indiana
Death: July 13, 1935, Clark, South Dakota
Governor Coe I. Crawford
6th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1907 – 1909
Birth: January 14, 1858, near Volney, Iowa
Death: April 25, 1944, Yankton, South Dakota
Governor Robert Scadden Vessey
7th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1909 – 1913
Birth: May 16, 1858, Winnebago County, Wisconsin
Death: October 18, 1929, Pasadena, California
Governor Frank M. Byrne
8th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1913 – 1917
Birth: October 23, 1858, near Volney, Iowa
Death: December 24, 1927, San Francisco, California
Governor Peter Norbeck
9th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1917 – 1921
Birth: August 27, 1870, Clay County, South Dakota
Death: December 20, 1936, Redfield, South Dakota
Governor William H. McMaster
10th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1921 – 1925
Birth: May 10, 1877, Ticonic, Iowa
Death: September 14, 1868, Dixon, Illinois
Governor Carl Gunderson
11th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1925 – 1927
Birth: June 20, 1864, near Vermillion, South Dakota
Death: February 16, 1933, Mitchell, South Dakota
Governor William J. Bulow
12th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1927 – 1931
Birth: January 13, 1869, near Moscow, Ohio
Death: February 26, 1960, Washington, D.C.
Governor Warren Everett Green
13th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1931 – 1933
Birth: March 10, 1869, Jackson County, Wisconsin
Death: April 27, 1945, Watertown, South Dakota
Governor Tom Berry
14th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1933 – 1937
Birth: April 23, 1879, Paddock, Nebraska
Death: October 30, 1951, Rapid City, South Dakota
Governor Leslie Jensen
15th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1937 – 1939
Birth: September 15, 1892, Hot Springs, South Dakota
Death: December 14, 1964, Rapid City, South Dakota
Governor Harlan John Bushfield
16th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1939 – 1943
Birth: August 6, 1882, Atlantic, Iowa
Death: September 27, 1948, Miller, South Dakota
Governor Merrell Q. Sharpe
17th Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1943 – 1947
Birth: January 11, 1888, Marysville, Kansas
Death: January 22, 1962, Kennebec, South Dakota
Governor George Theodore Mickelson
18th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1947 – 1951
Birth: July 23, 1903, Selby, South Dakota
Death: February 28, 1965, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Governor Sigurd Anderson
19th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1951 – 1955
Birth: January 22, 1904, Arendel, Norway
Death: December 21, 1990, Webster, South Dakota
Governor Joe Foss
20th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1955 – 1959
Birth: April 17, 1915, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Death: January 1, 2003, Scottsdale, Arizona
Governor Ralph E. Herseth
21st Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1959 – 1961
Birth: July 2, 1909, near Houghton, South Dakota
Death: January 24, 1969, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Governor Archie Gubbrud
22nd Governor of South Dakota
Time in office: 1961 – 1965
Birth: December 31, 1910, Lincoln County, South Dakota
Death: April 26, 1987, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Governor Nils Andreas Boe
23rd Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1965 – 1969
Birth: September 10, 1913, Baltic, South Dakota
Death: July 30, 1992, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Governor Frank Leroy Farrar
24th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1969 – 1971
Birth: April 2, 1929, Britton, South Dakota
Governor Richard Francis Kneip
25th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1971 – 1978
Birth: January 7, 1933, Tyler, Minnesota
Death: March 9, 1987, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Governor Harvey Lowell Wollman
26th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1978 – 1979
Birth: May 14, 1935, Frankfort, South Dakota
Governor William John “Bill” Janklow
27th and 30th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1979 – 1987 and 1995 – 2003
Birth: September 13, 1939, Chicago, Illinois
Death: January 12, 2012, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Governor George Speaker Mickelson
28th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1987 – 1993
Birth: January 31, 1941 – Mobridge, South Dakota
Death: April 19, 1993 – near Dubuque, Iowa
Governor Walter Dale Miller
29th Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 1993 – 1995
Birth: October 5, 1925, Viewfield, South Dakota
Death: September 28, 2015, Dallas, Texas
Governor Marion Michael “Mike” Rounds
31st Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 2003 – 2011
Birth: October 24, 1954, Huron, South Dakota
Governor Dennis Daugaard
32nd Governor of South Dakota
Years in Office: 2011 – 2019
Birth: June 11, 1953, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Former Governor Biographies
Guide to the Governors Papers at the South Dakota State Archives
Territorial Governors Papers, 1861-1889
Guide to the Governors Papers at the South Dakota State Archives
South Dakota State Governors, 1889-1925
Guide to the Governors Papers at the South Dakota State Archives
South Dakota State Governors, 1925-1959
Guide to the Governors Papers at the South Dakota State Archives
South Dakota State Governors, 1959-Present
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