President of the Maryland Senate

The President of the Maryland Senate is elected by a majority of the State Senators.[1] The incumbent is Bill Ferguson who has held the role since January 8, 2020.

The Maryland Constitution of 1864 created the new position of Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, elected by the voters of the state.[2] That officer served as president of the Senate and would assume the office of governor if the incumbent should die, resign, be removed, or be disqualified.[2] Christopher Christian Cox was the first and only lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate in that capacity;[3] the position was abolished in the state's 1867 Constitution, which remains in effect as amended.[2] When the lieutenant governorship was re-established by a constitutional amendment in 1970, it did not include the Senate presidency.[2]

List of Senate presidents[edit]

Order Name (Political Party) District Sessions
1 Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 1777–1780
2 Matthew Tilghman 1780
3 Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer 1780
4 George Plater 1780–1782
5 Matthew Tilghman 1782–1783
6 Charles Carroll of Carrollton 1783
7 Daniel Carroll 1783
8 Charles Carroll of Carrollton 1783
9 George Plater 1784
10 John Smith 1784
11 George Plater 1785
12 Daniel Carroll 1785
13 George Plater 1786
14 John Smith 1786
15 Daniel Carroll 1787
16 George Plater 1787–1788
17 Daniel Carroll 1788–1789
18 John Smith 1789
19 George Plater 1790
20 William Smallwood 1791
21 George Dent 1792
22 William Perry 1792–1798
23 John Thomas 1797–1800
24 Richard Harwood 1801–1805
25 William Thomas 1806–1807
26 Stephen Lowrey 1807
27 William Thomas 1807–1809
28 Stephen Lowrey 1809
29 William Thomas 1809–1813
30 Elijah Davis 1813–1815
31 William Spencer 1816–1820
32 William R. Stuart 1821–1825
33 Edward Lloyd 1826
34 William H. Marriott 1827–1830
35 Benjamin S. Forrest 1831–1834
36 Thomas Sappington 1834
37 John G. Chapman (Whig) 1834–1836
38 Richard Thomas St. Mary's 1836–1843
39 William Williams Somerset 1844–1847
40 William Lingan Gaither Montgomery 1849
41 Edward Lloyd Talbot 1852–1853
42 William Lingan Gaither Montgomery 1854
43 George Wells Anne Arundel 1856
44 Edwin H. Webster Harford 1858
45 John B. Brooke Prince George's 1860–1861
46 Henry Hollyday Goldsborough Talbot 1861–1862
47 John S. Sellman Anne Arundel 1864
48 Christopher C. Cox (National Union)* 1865–1867
49 Barnes Compton (D) Charles 1868–1870
50 Henry Snyder (D) Baltimore City, District 2 1872
51 John Lee Carroll (D) Howard 1874
52 Daniel Fields (D) Caroline 1876
53 Edward Lloyd (D) Talbot 1878
54 Herman Stump, Jr. (D) Harford 1880
55 George Hawkins Williams (D) Baltimore 1882
56 Henry Lloyd (D) Dorchester 1884
57 Edwin Warfield (D) Howard 1886
58 George Peter (D) Montgomery 1888
59 Robert Franklin Brattan (D) Somerset 1890
60 Edward Lloyd VII (D) Talbot 1892
61 John Walter Smith (D) Worcester 1894
62 William Cabell Bruce (D) Baltimore City, District 2 1896
63 John Wirt Randall (R) Anne Arundel 1898
64 John Hubner (D) Baltimore 1900–1902
65 Spencer Cone Jones (D) Montgomery 1904
66 Joseph B. Seth (D) Talbot 1906–1908
67 Arthur Pue Gorman Jr. (D) Howard 1910
68 Jesse D. Price (D) Wicomico 1912–1914
69 Peter J. Campbell (D) Baltimore City, District 2 1916–1918
70 William I. Norris (D) Baltimore City, District 1 1920–1922
71 David G. McIntosh Jr. (D) Baltimore 1924–1929
72 Walter J. Mitchell (D) Charles 1931–1933
73 Lansdale G. Sasscer (D) Prince George's 1935–1937
74 Arthur H. Brice (D) Kent 1939–1943
75 James J. Lindsay, Jr. (D) Baltimore 1944–1946
76 Joseph R. Byrnes (D) Baltimore City, District 5 1947–1950
77 L. Harold Sothoron (D) Prince George's 1950
78 George W. Della (D) Baltimore City, District 6 1951–1954
79 Louis L. Goldstein (D) Calvert 1955–1958
80 George W. Della (D) Baltimore City, District 6 1959–1962
81 William S. James (D) Harford 1963–1974
82 Steny Hoyer (D) District 26 1975–1978
83 James Clark, Jr. (D) District 14 1979–1982
84 Melvin A. Steinberg (D) District 11 1983–1986
85 Thomas V. 'Mike' Miller, Jr. (D) District 27 1987–January 8, 2020
86 Bill Ferguson (D) District 46 January 8, 2020 – Present

* Cox was elected Lieutenant Governor under the 1864 Constitution, which made him ex officio president of the Senate.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Maryland Senate - Organizational Structure". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  2. ^ a b c d "Maryland State Archives, Lieutenant Governors of Maryland 1865-1990". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
  3. ^ "Christopher C. Cox, MSA SC 3520-1490". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-08.


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