List of speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives holds the oldest statewide elected office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.^[1] Since its first session under the Frame of Government in 1682, presided over by William Penn, over 130 House members have been elevated to the speaker's chair. The house cannot hold an official session in the absence of the speaker or their designated speaker pro tempore.

Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Incumbent Joanna McClinton since February 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)
Style	The Honorable
Appointer	Elected by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Inaugural holder	William Bingham

Speaker K. Leroy Irvis was the first African-American elected speaker of any state legislature in the United States since the Reconstruction era.

Current Speaker Joanna McClinton is the first female and first female African-American speaker.

List of speakers of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly (1682–1775)

Name	Date elected
unknown (probably Wynne or More, below)	1687/1688
Thomas Wynne	1682/1683
Nicholas More	1684
John White	1685/88
Arthur Cook	1689
Joseph Growdon	1690/91
unknown	1691
William Clark	1692
Joseph Growdon	1693
David Lloyd	1694
Edward Shippen	1695
John Simcock	1696
John Blunston	1697
Phineas Pemberton	1698
John Blunston	1699
Joseph Growdon	1700
David Lloyd	1703
Joseph Growden	1705
David Lloyd	1706
Richard Hill	1710
Isaac Norris	1712
Joseph Growdon	1713
David Lloyd	1714
Joseph Growdon	1715
Richard Hill	1716
William Trent	1717
Jonathan Dickinson	1718
William Trent	1719
Isaac Norris	1720
Jeremiah Langhorne	1721
Joseph Growdon	1722
David Lloyd	1723
William Biles, Jr.	1724
David Lloyd	1725
Andrew Hamilton	1729
Jeremiah Langhorne	1733
Andrew Hamilton	1734
John Kinsey	1739
John Wright	1745
John Kinsey	1745/1746
Isaac Norris (II)	1750
Thomas Leech	1758
Isaac Norris (II)	1758
Thomas Leech	1759
Isaac Norris (II)	1759
Benjamin Franklin	1764
Isaac Norris (II)	1764
Joseph Fox	1764
Joseph Galloway	1766
Joseph Fox	1769
Joseph Galloway	1769
Edward Biddle	1774
John Morton	1775

List of speakers of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (following the 1776 Constitution)

Name	Date elected
John Jacobs (under the 1776 Constitution)	1776
John Bayard	1777
Frederick Muhlenberg	1780
George Gray	1783
John Bayard	1784
Thomas Mifflin	1785
Gerardus Wynkoop II[2]	1786 (four days)[3]
Richard Peters	1788
William Bingham (under the 1790 constitution)	1790

List of speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Name		County	Tenure	Notes
	William Bingham	Philadelphia	1791
	Gerardus Wynkoop II	Philadelphia	1793
	George Latimer	Philadelphia	1794
	Cadwalader Evans	Montgomery	1799
	Isaac Weaver, Jr.	Greene	1800
	Simon Snyder	Northumberland	1804
	Charles Porter	Fayette	1806–1807
	Simon Snyder	Northumberland	1807
	Nathaniel Boileau	Montgomery	1808
	James Engle	Philadelphia	1809
	John Weber	Montgomery	1810
	John Tod	Bedford	1812
	Robert Smith	Franklin	1813	resigned February 14, 1813
	John St. Clair	Fayette	1814
	Jacob Holgate	Philadelphia	1815
	Rees Hill	Greene	1816
	William Davidson	Fayette	1818
	Rees Hill	Greene	1819
	Joseph Lawrence	Washington	1820
	John Gilmore	Allegheny, Butler	1821
	Joseph Lawrence	Washington	1822
	Joel B. Sutherland	Philadelphia	1825
	Joseph Ritner	Washington	1826
	Ner Middleswarth	Union	1828
	Frederick Smith	Franklin	1830
	John Laporte	Bradford, Tioga	1832
	James Findley	Westmoreland	1833
	Samuel Anderson	Delaware	1833
	William Patterson	Washington	1834
	James Thompson	Venango, Warren	1835
	Ner Middleswarth	Union	1836
	Lewis Dewart	Northumberland	1837
	William Hopkins	Washington	1839
	William A. Crabb	Philadelphia	1841
	James Ross Snowden	Venango, Clarion	1842
	Hendrick Bradley Wright	Luzerne, Wyoming	1843
	James Ross Snowden	Venango, Clarion	1844
	Findley Patterson	Washington	1845
	Findley Patterson	Washington	1846
	James Cooper	Adams	1847
	William F. Packer	Lycoming, Clinton	1848
	William F. Packer	Potter, Sullivan	1849
	John S. McCalmont	Venango	1850
	John Cessna	Bedford	1851
	John S. Rhey	Armstrong, Cambria	1852
	William P. Schell	Bedford	1853
	E.B. Chase	Susquehanna, Wyoming	1854
	Henry K. Strong	Philadelphia	1855
	Richard L. Wright	Philadelphia	1856
	J. Lawrence Getz	Berks	1857
	A.B. Longaker	Montgomery	1858
	William Lawrence	Dauphin	1859
	William Lawrence	Dauphin	1860
	Elisha W. Davis	Mercer, Venango	1861
	William Kinsey	Bucks	1862
	John Cessna	Bedford	1863
	Henry C. Johnson	Crawford	1864
	Arthur G. Olmsted	Potter	1865
	James R. Kelley	Fulton	1866
	John P. Glass	Allegheny	1867
	Elisha W. Davis	Philadelphia	1868
	John Clark	Washington	1869
	Butler B. Strang	Tioga	1870
	James H. Webb	Bradford	1871
	William Elliott	Philadelphia	1872
	H. H. McCormick	Allegheny	1874
	Samuel D. Patterson	Allegheny	1875	[4]
	E. Reed Myer	Bradford	1877
	Henry M. Long	Allegheny	1879
	Benjamin L. Hewit	Blair	1881
	John E. Faunce	Philadelphia	1883
	James L. Graham	Allegheny	1885
	Henry K. Boyer	Philadelphia	1887
	Henry K. Boyer	Philadelphia	1889
	Caleb C. Thompson	Warren	1891
	Caleb C. Thompson	Warren	1893
	Henry F. Walton	Philadelphia	1895
	Henry K. Boyer	Philadelphia	1897	resigned January 17, 1898
	John R. Farr	Lackawanna	1899
	William T. Marshall	Allegheny	1901
	Henry F. Walton	Philadelphia	1903
	Henry F. Walton	Philadelphia	1905
	Frank B. McClain	Lancaster	1907
	John F. Cox	Allegheny	1909
	John F. Cox	Allegheny	1911	died in office November 6, 1911
	Milton W. Shreve	Erie	1911
	George E. Alter	Allegheny	1913
	Charles A. Ambler	Montgomery	1915	died August 29, 1940
	Richard J. Baldwin	Delaware	1917
	Robert S. Spangler	York	1919
	Robert S. Spangler	York	1921	unseated April 26, 1921
	Samuel A. Whitaker	Chester	1921	elected to fill unexpired term April 26, 1921
	C.J. Goodnough	Cameron	1923
	Thomas Bluett	Philadelphia	1925
	Thomas Bluett	Philadelphia	1927	resigned to become a judge
	James H. McClure	Allegheny	1927	elected to fill an unexpired term
	Aaron B. Hess	Lancaster	1929
	C.J. Goodnough	Cameron	1931
	Grover C. Talbot	Delaware	1933–1935
	Wilson G. Sarig	Berks	1935–1936	died in office March 14, 1936
	Roy E. Furman	Greene	1936–1939
	Ellwood J. Turner	Delaware	1939–1941
	Elmer Kilroy	Philadelphia	1941–1943
	Ira T. Fiss	Snyder	1943–1947
	Franklin H. Lichtenwalter	Lehigh	1947–1949
	Herbert P. Sorg	Elk	1949–1953
	Charles C. Smith	Philadelphia	1953–1955
	Hiram G. Andrews	Cambria	1955–1957
	W. Stuart Helm	Armstrong	1957–1959
	Hiram G. Andrews	Cambria	1959–1963
	W. Stuart Helm	Armstrong	1963–1965
	Robert K. Hamilton	Beaver	1965–1967
	Kenneth B. Lee	Sullivan	1967–1969
	Herbert Fineman	Philadelphia	1969–1971
	Kenneth B. Lee	Sullivan	1971–1975
	Herbert Fineman	Philadelphia	1975–1977
	K. Leroy Irvis	Allegheny	1977–1979	elected May 23, 1977
	H. Jack Seltzer	Lebanon	1979–1981
	Matthew J. Ryan	Delaware	1981–1983
	K. Leroy Irvis	Allegheny	1983–1987
	James J. Manderino	Westmoreland	1987–1989	died in office December 26, 1989
	Robert W. O'Donnell	Philadelphia	1990–1992
	H. William DeWeese	Greene	1993–1994
	Matthew J. Ryan	Delaware	1995–2003	died in office March 29, 2003
	John M. Perzel	Philadelphia	2003–2006	elected to fill unexpired term April 15, 2003
	Dennis M. O'Brien	Philadelphia	2007–2008	Minority-party Speaker
	Keith R. McCall	Carbon	2009–2010
	Samuel H. Smith	Jefferson	2011–2015
	Michael C. Turzai	Allegheny	2015–2020	Resigned June 15, 2020
	Bryan Cutler	Lancaster	2020–2022
	Mark Rozzi	Berks	January–February 2023	Resigned February 28, 2023[5]
	Joanna McClinton	Philadelphia	February 2023 –Present

See also

• List of Pennsylvania state legislatures