History of the Office of Lieutenant Governor
FUN FACTS: Illinois Lieutenant Governors in History
On Monday, January 13, 2003, Pat Quinn was sworn in as the 45th Lieutenant Governor in Illinois history. Some fun facts about those who held the Office:
- Menard County (just northwest of Springfield) is named for our first Lieutenant Governor, Pierre Menard, who served from 1818 to 1822. Menard also was a member of Indiana’s Territorial Legislature!
- Lt. Gov. Fred Sterling served the longest (12 years); Thomas Marshall had the shortest tenure (one year).
- Six Lieutenant Governors saw military combat: Stinson Anderson fought in the Black Hawk War (as did Abraham Lincoln), John Hamilton was a Union officer in the Civil War, John Oglesby served in the Army during the Spanish American War, Barratt O’Hara fought in both the Spanish-American War and World War I, John Stelle saw action in World War I, and Samuel Shapiro joined the Navy in World War II.
- Two candidates for U.S. President (Lawrence Sherman and Paul Simon) were once Illinois Lieutenant Governors.
- Lt. Gov. Gustavus Koerner went on to become an Illinois Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to Spain.
- Seven Illinois Governors and four U.S. Senators served as Lieutenant Governor.
- One Illinois Attorney General, one Secretary of State, four State Treasurers and four Speakers of the Illinois House also served as Lieutenant Governor. A third of our Lieutenant Governors were Illinois legislators.
- Of Illinois’ 45 Lieutenant Governors, 17 were named John or William!
The complete list of Illinois Lieutenant Governors, from 1818 to 2003:
Pierre Menard, Adolphus Hubbard, William Kinney, Zadoc Casey, William Ewing, Alexander Jenkins, William Davidson, Stinson Anderson, John Moore, Joseph Wells, William McMurtry, Gustavus Koerner, John Wood, Thomas Marshall, Francis Hoffman, William Bross, John Dougherty, John Beveridge, John Early, Archibald Glenn, Andrew Shuman, John Hamilton, William Campbell, John Smith, Lyman Ray, Joseph Gill, William Northcott, Lawrence Sherman, John Oglesby, Barratt O’Hara, John Oglesby, Fred Sterling, Thomas Donovan, John Stelle, Hugh Cross, Sherwood Dixon, John Chapman, Samuel Shapiro, Paul Simon, Neil Hartigan, Dave O’Neal, George Ryan, Bob Kustra, Corinne Wood, Pat Quinn
Archive of This Week in Illinois History
| Event |
| January 2, 1900
After eight years of construction, on this date, the Sanitary and Ship Canal opened, forcing the reversal of the flow of the Chicago River. |
| December 25, 1865
On this date the Union Stock Yard opened. It eventally became the largest stockyard in the country, employing more than 25,000 persons at its peak in 1924. |
| December 15, 1970
Illinois voters today approved a new State Constitution. The previous constitution had survived for 100 years. |
| December 3, 1818
On this date, President James Monroe signed the congressional resolution admitting Illinois as the 21st state in the union. |
| November 19, 1863
On this date, President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address honored the 45,000 men killed, injured, captured or went missing in the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The Address is only 272 words long. |
| November 17, 2004
Waukegan native Ray Bradbury received the National Medal of Arts on this date. Bradbury, who has also won an Emmy, is the author of Farenheit 451. |
| November 4, 1842
Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd. Eighteen years later this week, Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States. |
| October 28, 1950
Waukegan native Jack Benny (aka Benjamin Kubelsky) and The Jack Benny Show moved to television on this date. The previous radio show had run from 1932 and the TV show lasted until 1965. |
| October 26, 1825
The Erie Canal opened today to allow ships from the Atlantic Ocean to have a direct water connection to the Great Lakes. This allowed for a 50 percent decrease in commodities travel time to Illinois. |
| October 18, 1924
On this date, Red Grange became a University of Illinois football legend with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Michigan. This game earned him the nickname "The Galloping Ghost" |
| October 15, 1858
The final Lincoln-Douglas Debate was held on the banks of the Mississippi River near Alton. It was here where Abraham Lincoln said "it is the eternal struggle between two principles-right and wrong-throughout the world..." Douglas won the debate. |
| October 8, 1871
The Great Chicago Fire started in an area said by some to be a barn owned by the O'Learys. By the time the fire was under control, 300 Chicagoans were dead, and 90,000 residents were left homeless. Four square miles, including the central business district, were completely leveled. |
Sources: Illinois Blue Book, Chicago Tribune Almanac, History Channel, Encyclopedia of Chicago and This Day in Illinois History
