President of the Massachusetts Senate

Presiding officer

President of the Massachusetts Senate

Seal of the Senate of Massachusetts

Incumbent
Karen Spilka
since July 26, 2018

Government of Massachusetts
Status| Presiding Officer
Member of| General Court
Residence| None official
Seat| State House, Boston, Massachusetts
Nominator| Majority party of the chamber
Appointer| The Senate
Term length| Two Years, no term limit
Constituting instrument| Constitution of Massachusetts
Inaugural holder| Thomas Cushing
Formation| October 25, 1780
Deputy| President Pro Tempore

The president of the Massachusetts Senate is the presiding officer. Unlike the United States Congress, in which the vice president of the United States is the ex officio president of the United States Senate, in Massachusetts, the president of the Senate is elected from and by the senators. The president, therefore, typically comes from the majority party, and the president is then the de facto leader of that party.

The current president of the Massachusetts Senate, since July 26, 2018, is Karen Spilka, a Democrat from Ashland. Democrats have had a majority in the Senate since 1959.[1] Notable former presidents of the Massachusetts Senate include U.S. president Calvin Coolidge.

## List of presidents of the Massachusetts Senate

[edit]

# | President | Picture | Term | Party | Notes

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1st  | Thomas Cushing |  | October 25, 1780 – November 4, 1780[2] |  | Cushing was elected as the first president of the Massachusetts Senate, he resigned on November 4, 1780 because he was elected the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.[2]
2nd  | Jeremiah Powell |  | November 4, 1780[2] – 1782  |  |
3rd  | Samuel Adams |  | 1782–1785  |  |
4th  | Samuel Phillips |  | 1785–87
1788–1801
1801–02  | F |
5th  | Samuel Adams  |  | 1787–1788  |  |
6th  | David Cobb |  | 1801–02
1802–05  | F | Served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's at-large congressional seat from March 4, 1793 – March 4, 1795.
7th  | Harrison Gray Otis |  | 1805–06  | F |
8th  | John Bacon |  | 1806–1807  | DR  |
9th  | Samuel Dana |  | 1807–1808  | DR  |
10th  | Harrison Gray Otis  |  | 1808–1811  | F |
11th  | Samuel Dana  |  | 1811–1813  | DR  |
12th  | John Phillips |  | 1813–1823  |  | Served as the first Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts.
13th  | Nathaniel Silsbee |  | 1823–1826  | F |
14th  | John Mills |  | 1826–1828  |  |
15th  | Sherman Leland |  | 1828–1829  |  |
16th  | Samuel Lathrop |  | 1829–1831  | F |
17th  | James Fowler |  | 1830–1831  |  |
18th  | Leverett Saltonstall |  | 1831  | W |
19th  | William Thorndike |  | 1832  |  |
20th  | Benjamin T. Pickman |  | 1833–1835  |  |
21st  | George Bliss |  | 1835  |  |
22nd  | Horace Mann |  | 1836–1837  | W |
23rd  | Myron Lawrence |  | 1838–1839  | W |
24th  | Daniel P. King |  | 1840–1841  | W |
25th  | Josiah Quincy Jr. |  | 1842  | W |
26th  | Phineas W. Leland |  | 1843  | D |
27th  | Frederick Robinson |  | 1843  | D |
28th  | Josiah Quincy Jr. |  | 1844  | W |
29th  | Levi Lincoln Jr. |  | 1845  | DR |
30th  | William B. Calhoun |  | 1846–1847  | W |
31st  | Zeno Scudder |  | 1848  | W |
32nd  | Joseph M. Bell |  | 1849  | W |
33rd  | Marshall Pinckney Wilder |  | 1850  | W |
34th  | Henry Wilson |  | 1851–1852  | FS | Was the 18th Vice President of the United States (1873–1875) and a Senator from Massachusetts (1855–1873).
35th  | Charles Henry Warren |  | 1853  | Whig |
36th  | Charles Edward Cook |  | 1854  |
37th  | Henry W. Benchley |  | 1855  | A  |
38th  | Elihu C. Baker |  | 1856  | A  |
39th  | Charles W. Upham |  | 1857–1858  | W | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th district from March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855.
40th  | Charles Abner Phelps |  | 1859–1860  | R[3] | Also served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1856.
41st  | William Claflin |  | 1861  | R | Also served as the 27th Governor of Massachusetts from 1869–1872, and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881.
42nd  | John Henry Clifford |  | 1862  | R | Also served as the Massachusetts Attorney General and, from 1853 to 1854, as the 21st Governor of Massachusetts.
43rd  | Jonathan E. Field |  | 1863–1865  | R  |
44th  | Joseph Adams Pond |  | 1866 – October 28, 1867  |  | Died in office at age 40.
45th  | George O. Brastow |  | 1868–1869  |  | Also served as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and as the first Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts.
46th  | Robert Carter Pitman |  | 1869  |  | Resigned
47th  | George O. Brastow |  | 1869  |  | Also served as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council, and as the first Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts.
48th  | Horace Hopkins Coolidge |  | 1870–1872  |
49th  | George B. Loring |  | 1873–1876  | R |
50th  | John B. D. Cogswell |  | 1877–1879  | R  |
51st  | Robert R. Bishop |  | 1880–1882  | R |
52nd  | George Glover Crocker |  | 1883  | R  |
53rd  | George A. Bruce |  | 1884  | R | Also served as the fourth Mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts.
54th  | Albert E. Pillsbury |  | 1885–1886  | R | Served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1891 to 1894. Drafted original bylaws of the NAACP.
55th  | Halsey J. Boardman |  | 1887–1888  | R |
56th  | Harris C. Hartwell |  | 1889  | R |
57th  | Henry H. Sprague |  | 1890–1891  | R  |
58th  | Alfred S. Pinkerton |  | 1892–1893  | R |
59th  | William M. Butler |  | 1894–1895  | R | Also served as United States Senator from Massachusetts from November 13, 1924 to December 6, 1926 and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1924 to 1928.
60th  | George P. Lawrence |  | 1896–1897  | R |
61st  | George E. Smith |  | 1898–1900  | R |
62nd  | Rufus A. Soule |  | 1901–1902  | R |
63rd  | George R. Jones |  | 1903–1904  | R  |
64th  | William F. Dana[4] |  | 1905–1906  | R  |
65th  | William D. Chapple |  | 1907–1908  | R  |
66th  | Allen T. Treadway |  | 1909–1911  | R  | Served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1913 until January 3, 1945.
67th  | Levi H. Greenwood |  | 1912–1913  | R  |
68th  | Calvin Coolidge |  | 1914–1915  | R  | Later served as the 30th President of the United States (1923–1929).
69th  | Henry Gordon Wells |  | 1916–1918  | R  |
70th  | Edwin T. McKnight |  | 1919–1920  | R  |
71st  | Frank G. Allen |  | 1921–1924  | R  | Also was the 51st Governor of Massachusetts.
72nd  | Wellington Wells |  | 1925–1928  | R  |
73rd  | Gaspar G. Bacon |  | 1929–1932  | R  |
74th  | Erland F. Fish |  | 1933–1934  | R  |
75th  | James G. Moran |  | 1935–1936  | R  | Elected by 19 Democrats and 1 Republican.[5]
76th  | Samuel H. Wragg |  | 1937–1938  | R  |
77th  | Joseph R. Cotton |  | 1939–1940  | R  |
78th  | Angier L. Goodwin |  | 1941  | R  |
79th  | Jarvis Hunt |  | 1942–1944  | R  |
80th  | Arthur W. Coolidge |  | 1945–1946  | R  |
81st  | Donald W. Nicholson |  | 1947  | R  |
82nd  | Harris S. Richardson |  | 1948  | R  |
83rd  | Chester A. Dolan Jr. |  | 1949  | D  |
| Harris S. Richardson |  | 1950  | R  |
84th  | Richard I. Furbush |  | 1951–1956  | R  |
85th  | Newland H. Holmes |  | 1957–1958  | R  |
86th  | John E. Powers |  | 1959–1964  | D  |
87th  | Maurice A. Donahue |  | 1964–1971  | D  |
88th  | Kevin B. Harrington |  | 1971–1978  | D  |
89th  | William Bulger |  | 1978–1996  | D  |
90th  | Tom Birmingham |  | 1996–2003  | D  |
91st  | Robert Travaglini |  | 2003–2007  | D  |
92nd  | Therese Murray |  | 2007–2015  | D  |
93rd  | Stan Rosenberg |  | 2015–2017  | D  |
94th  | Harriette L. Chandler |  | 2017–2018  | D  |
95th  | Karen Spilka |  | 2018–  | D  |

A = American, D = Democratic, R = Republican, W = Whig

## See also

[edit]

* List of speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
* List of Massachusetts General Courts

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Boston Globe, September 21, 1988
2. ^ a b c Massachusetts General Court - Senate (January 1, 1879), The Journal of the Senate for the year 1879, Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts General Court - Senate, p. 5
3. ^ Brown, Edgar M. (1859), Annual Register of the Executive and Legislative Department of the Government of Massachusetts, 1859, Boston, Massachusetts: Alfred Mudge & Son Printers, p. 4.
4. ^ "William Franklin Dana". New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 1922.
5. ^ Merrill, John (January 11, 1935). "Moran Wins in Senate, Faints". The Boston Daily Globe.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* The Massachusetts State House, p. 141-42. Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston, 1953.

## External links

[edit]

* Senate Rules (rules 1-5B relate to the President)

* v
* t
* e

Presidents of the Massachusetts Senate

* Cushing
* Powell
* Adams
* S. Phillips
* Adams
* Cobb
* Otis
* J. Bacon
* S. Dana
* Otis
* S. Dana
* J. Phillips
* Silsbee
* Mills
* S. Leland
* Lathrop
* Fowler
* Saltonstall
* Thorndike
* Pickman
* Bliss
* Mann
* M. Lawrence
* King
* Quincy
* P. Leland
* Robinson
* Quincy
* Lincoln
* Calhoun
* Scudder
* Bell
* Wilder
* Wilson
* Warren
* Cook
* Benchley
* Baker
* Upham
* Phelps
* Claflin
* Clifford
* Field
* Pond
* Brastow
* Pitman
* Brastow
* H. Coolidge
* Loring
* Cogswell
* Bishop
* Crocker
* Bruce
* Pillsbury
* Boardman
* Hartwell
* Sprague
* Pinkerton
* Butler
* G. Lawrence
* Smith
* Soule
* Jones
* W. Dana
* Chapple
* Treadway
* Greenwood
* C. Coolidge
* H. Wells
* McKnight
* Allen
* W. Wells
* G. Bacon
* Fish
* Moran
* Wragg
* Cotton
* Goodwin
* Hunt
* A. Coolidge
* Nicholson
* Richardson
* Dolan
* Richardson
* Furbush
* Holmes
* Powers
* Donahue
* Harrington
* Bulger
* Birmingham
* Travaglini
* Murray
* Rosenberg
* Chandler
* Spilka

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Massachusetts General Courts by year convened

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1 (1780)
2 (1781)
3 (1782)
4 (1783)
5 (1784)
6 (1785)
7 (1786)
8 (1787)
9 (1788)
10 (1789)
11 (1790)
12 (1791)
13 (1792)
14 (1793)
15 (1794)
16 (1795)
17 (1796)
18 (1797)
19 (1798)
20 (1799)
21 (1800)
22 (1801)
23 (1802)
24 (1803)
25 (1804)

26 (1805)
27 (1806)
28 (1807)
29 (1808)
30 (1809)
31 (1810)
32 (1811)
33 (1812)
34 (1813)
35 (1814)
36 (1815)
37 (1816)
38 (1817)
39 (1818)
40 (1819)
41 (1820)
42 (1821)
43 (1822)
44 (1823)
45 (1824)
46 (1825)
47 (1826)
48 (1827)
49 (1828)
50 (1829)

51 (1830)
52 (1831)
53 (1832)
54 (1833)
55 (1834)
56 (1835)
57 (1836)
58 (1837)
59 (1838)
60 (1839)
61 (1840)
62 (1841)
63 (1842)
64 (1843)
65 (1844)
66 (1845)
67 (1846)
68 (1847)
69 (1848)
70 (1849)
71 (1850)
72 (1851)
73 (1852)
74 (1853)
75 (1854)

76 (1855)
77 (1856)
78 (1857)
79 (1858)
80 (1859)
81 (1860)
82 (1861)
83 (1862)
84 (1863)
85 (1864)
86 (1865)
87 (1866)
88 (1867)
89 (1868)
90 (1869)
91 (1870)
92 (1871)
93 (1872)
94 (1873)
95 (1874)
96 (1875)
97 (1876)
98 (1877)
99 (1878)
100 (1879)

101 (1880)
102 (1881)
103 (1882)
104 (1883)
105 (1884)
106 (1885)
107 (1886)
108 (1887)
109 (1888)
110 (1889)
111 (1890)
112 (1891)
113 (1892)
114 (1893)
115 (1894)
116 (1895)
117 (1896)
118 (1897)
119 (1898)
120 (1899)
121 (1900)
122 (1901)
123 (1902)
124 (1903)
125 (1904)

126 (1905)
127 (1906)
128 (1907)
129 (1908)
130 (1909)
131 (1910)
132 (1911)
133 (1912)
134 (1913)
135 (1914)
136 (1915)
137 (1916)
138 (1917)
139 (1918)
140 (1919)
141 (1920)
142 (1921)
143 (1923)
144 (1925)
145 (1927)
146 (1929)
147 (1931)
148 (1933)
149 (1935)
150 (1937)

151 (1939)
152 (1941)
153 (1943)
154 (1945)
155 (1947)
156 (1949)
157 (1951)
158 (1953)
159 (1955)
160 (1957)
161 (1959)
162 (1961)
163 (1963)
164 (1965)
165 (1967)
166 (1969)
167 (1971)
168 (1973)
169 (1975)
170 (1977)
171 (1979)
172 (1981)
173 (1983)
174 (1985)
175 (1987)

176 (1989)
177 (1991)
178 (1993)
179 (1995)
180 (1997)
181 (1999)
182 (2001)
183 (2003)
184 (2005)
185 (2007)
186 (2009)
187 (2011)
188 (2013)
189 (2015)
190 (2017)
191 (2019)
192 (2021)
193 (2023)

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Commons

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Statewide government officials of Massachusetts

U.S. senators|

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See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts

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