Governor of California

:See also: List of pre-statehood governors of California, List of Governors of California

Gubernatorial facts

Age and longevity

• Between the births of John Bigler in 1807 and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1947, future California Governors have been born in every decade except the 1880s.
• Between the deaths of John McDougal in 1866 and Ronald Reagan in 2004, Governors have died in every decade except two: the 1910s and the 1980s.
• Peter Burnett had the longest post-governorship, 44 years. He left office in 1851 and died in 1895.
• Excluding Governors who died in office, Robert Waterman had the shortest post-governorship. He died on April 12, 1881, a mere 3 months and 4 days after the expiration of his term.
• Sworn in at the age of 31, J. Neely Johnson was the youngest Governor.
• Sworn in at the age of 69, Frank Merriam was the oldest Governor.
• Earl Warren was the only Governor to serve more than 8 years in office (1943–1953)
• Milton Latham served the shortest term in office of 5 days (January 9–January 14, 1860)
• Two Governors were born in foreign countries:
• John G. Downey in Ireland
• Arnold Schwarzenegger in Austria
• Two Governors have died in office:
• Washington Bartlett in 1887
• James Rolph in 1934
• Ronald Reagan had the longest life-span of any governor, 93 years.
• John McDougal had the shortest life-span of any governor, 48 years.

Transition events

• Five Governors have resigned:
• Peter Burnett in 1851 "as a result of certain personal prejudices" in favor of slavery http://alastair.familydallas.com/govalpha.html#Burnett
• Milton Latham in 1860 to become a United States Senator
• Newton Booth in 1875 to become a United States Senator
• Hiram Johnson in 1917 to become a United States Senator
• Earl Warren in 1953 to become Chief Justice of the United States
• One Governor has been recalled:
• Gray Davis in 2003
• Seven Governors took office without being elected to the Governor's seat, having been elected as Lieutenant Governor and then ascending from that position:
• Four of them did not run to succeed themselves, and were never elected Governor:
• John McDougall in 1851
• John G. Downey in 1860
• Romualdo Pacheco in 1875
• Robert Waterman in 1887
• The other three later ran for Governor, and were elected to succeed themselves as Governor:
• William Stephens in 1917
• Frank Merriam in 1934
• Goodwin Knight in 1953