List of Attorneys General of Virginia

Attorneys General of colonial Virginia

Records of this period are sparse. The attorney general was appointed by the King, a combination of the governor and council, or the governor or acting governor. There was no term of office, and the office may have been vacant for extended periods.

Name	Term	Notes
Richard Lee	October 12, 1643 - ?	Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council
(Office not in use?)	1652–1660	Office apparently vacant during the Interregnum
Peter Jenings	Before June 25, 1670 - c. October 12, 1670	Reappointed by Charles II of England on September 15, 1670
George Jordan	October 12, 1670 - at least October 3, 1672	Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council
Robert Beverley	March 10, 1676 (appointed)[1]	Appointed by Governor William Berkeley and Council
George Jordan	Acting on May 20, 1677
William Sherwood	Early March 1677 - at least until November 25, 1678
Edmund Jenings	1680 - before November 16, 1686
George Brent	Before November 16, 1686 - before May 1, 1688	Acting
Edmund Jenings	c. May 1, 1688 - June 10, 1691
Edward Chilton[2]	October 20, 1691 (sworn) - April 1694	Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned.
William Randolph	April 1694 (sworn) - October 29, 1698	Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned.
Bartholomew Fowler	October 29, 1698 - September 4, 1700	Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson. Resigned.
Benjamin Harrison III	October 17, 1700 - c. 1702	Appointed by Governor Francis Nicholson and Council.
Stevens Thomson	March 2, 1704 (sworn) - February 1714	Privy Council approved appointment July 30, 1703. Died in office.
John Clayton	1714 - November 18, 1737	Appointed by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, given leave to England[3]
John Randolph	April 22, 1726 - late 1727 or early 1728	Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch in Clayton's absence
John Clayton	late 1727 or early 1728 - November 18, 1737	Reappointed by royal warrant after February 29, 1728. Died in office
Edward Barradall	Acting between November 17 and 25, 1737 - June 19, 1743	Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch, followed by warrant March 7, 1738, died in office
Thomas Nelson	Between June 19 and 27, 1743 - summer 1744	Appointed acting by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch
Peyton Randolph	May 7, 1744 (warrant) - sometime before January 29, 1754	Office declared forfeit on June 20, 1754
Peyton Randolph	May 13, 1755 (warrant) - sometime soon after November 22, 1766	Resigned
George Wythe	c. January 29, 1754 - between January 20 and February 10, 1755	Appointed acing by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie
George Wythe	c. after November 22, 1766 - between June 4 and 11, 1767	Appointed acing by Lieutenant Governor Francis Fauquier
John Randolph	Between June 4 and 11, 1767 to early September 1775 (fled)	Fled Virginia in September 1775

Attorneys General, 1776–1857

From 1776 to 1851, the attorney general was elected by the General Assembly, or, in case of vacancy, appointed by the governor for an undefined term. The Virginia Constitution of 1851 introduced popular election and four-year terms. After the 1851 constitution, vacancies would be filled by the General Assembly, if they were in session, or by the governor.

Name	Term	Party	Notes
Edmund Randolph	early July 1776 - November 30, 1786		Elected by convention
James Innes	November 30, 1786 - November 13, 1796		Resigned
John Marshall	mid-October 1794 until late March 1795		Acting
Robert Brooke	mid-November 1796–February 27, 1800	Democratic-Republican	Died in office
Philip Norborne Nicholas	March 15, 1800 – January 7, 1819	Democratic-Republican	Appointed by Governor James Monroe, elected by General Assembly, resigned
John Robertson	January 21, 1819 – mid-October 1834	Democratic	Resigned
Sidney Smith Baxter	December 11, 1834 – January 1, 1852	Democratic
Willis Perry Bocock	January 1, 1852 – May 15, 1857	Democratic	Resigned

Attorneys General during the Civil War and Reconstruction

Tucker served as the attorney general of Confedrate Virginia throughout the Civil War. Wheat and Bowden served as the attorneys general for Restored Government of Virginia. From 1865 to 1870, the commanding general of the military district of Virginia appointed the office.

Name	Term	Party	Notes
John Randolph Tucker	June 13, 1857 – May 9, 1865	Democratic	Confederate Attorney General throughout war. Left office when government abandoned Richmond.
James S. Wheat	June 21, 1861 – December 7, 1863	Republican	Elected at the Wheeling Convention and then in a May 1862 election for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling.
Thomas Russell Bowden	December 7, 1863 – August 1, 1869	Unionist/Republican	Attorney general for the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling, then Alexandria, after West Virginia separated, and in post-war Reconstruction Virginia.
Charles Whittlesey	September 10, 1869 – January 19, 1870	Republican	Appointed and removed by Brigadier General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby
James Craig Taylor	January 19, 1870 - January 1, 1874	Conservative Party of Virginia	Appointed by Brigadier General Canby and then elected

Attorneys General, 1874–present

Name	Term	Party	Notes
Raleigh Travers Daniel[4]	January 1, 1874 – August 16, 1877	Conservative Party of Virginia	Died in office
James Gavin Field	August 29, 1877 – January 1, 1882	Conservative Party of Virginia	Appointed and then elected
Francis Simpson Blair	January 1, 1882 – January 1, 1886	Readjuster Party[5]
Rufus A. Ayers	January 1, 1886 – January 1, 1890	Democratic
Robert Taylor Scott	January 1, 1890 – August 5, 1897	Democratic	Died in office
Richard Carter Scott	August 11, 1897 – January 1, 1898	Democratic	appointed by Governor Charles T. O'Ferrall
Andrew Jackson Montague	January 1, 1898 – January 1, 1902	Democratic	Became governor January 1, 1902
William Alexander Anderson	January 1, 1902 – February 1, 1910	Democratic
Samuel Walker Williams	February 1, 1910 – February 2, 1914	Democratic
John Garland Pollard	February 2, 1914 – January 5, 1918	Democratic	Resigned.
Josiah Dickenson Hank, Jr.	January 5, 1918 - February 1, 1918	Democratic	Appointed by Governor Henry C. Stuart
John R. Saunders	February 1, 1918 – March 17, 1934	Democratic	Died in office
Abram Penn Staples	March 22, 1934 – October 6, 1947	Democratic	Resigned to become judge of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Harvey Black Apperson	October 7, 1947 – February 2, 1948	Democratic	Appointed by Governor; Died in office
James Lindsay Almond	February 11, 1948 – September 16, 1957	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
Kenneth Cartwright Patty	September 1957 – January 1958	Democratic	Appointed by Governor
Albertis Sydney Harrison	January 1958 – April 1961	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
Frederick Thomas Gray	May 1961 – January 1962	Democratic	Appointed by Governor
Robert Young Button	January 1962 – January 1970	Democratic	[6]
Andrew Pickens Miller	January 1970 – January 1977	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
Anthony Francis Troy	January 1977 – January 1978	Democratic
J. Marshall Coleman	January 1978 – January 1982	Republican
Gerald Baliles	January 1982 – June 30, 1985	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
William Broaddus	1985 – 1986	Democratic
Mary Sue Terry	1986 – January 1993	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
Stephen D. Rosenthal	1993 – 1994	Democratic
Jim Gilmore	1994 – June 11, 1997	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
Richard Cullen	June 11, 1997 – January 17, 1998	Republican
Mark Earley	January 17, 1998 – June 4, 2001	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
Randolph A. Beales	July 11, 2001 – January 12, 2002	Republican
Jerry Kilgore	January 12, 2002 – February 1, 2005	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
Judith Jagdmann	February 1, 2005 – January 14, 2006	Republican
Bob McDonnell	January 14, 2006 – February 20, 2009	Republican	Resigned to run for Governor
Bill Mims	February 20, 2009 – January 16, 2010	Republican
Ken Cuccinelli	January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014	Republican
Mark Herring	January 11, 2014 – present	Democratic

References

1. Evans, Emory g. "Robert Beverley (bap. 1635–1687)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
2. Tate, Thad W. "Edward Chilton (1658–1707)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
3. Tarter, Brent. "John Clayton (ca. 1666–1737)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
4. Tarter, Brent. "Raleigh Travers Daniel (1805–1877)". Encyclopedia Virginia/Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
5. Tarter, Brent. "Francis Simpson Blair (1839–1899)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
6. Bugg, J. L. "Robert Young Button (1899–1977)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 15 July 2015.

• The Hornbook of Virginia History. Attorneys General of Virginia. (2012, September 20). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Attorneys_General_of_Virginia.