Virginia: Governors: 1776-1805

Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
6 Jul 1776 - 29 May 1779	Patrick Henry
	elected: 29 Jun 1776; took oath: 6 Jul 1776; re-elected: 29 May 1777; took oath: 2 Jul 1777; re-elected: 29 May 1778; took oath: date unknown
2? Jun 1779 - 2 Jun 1781	Thomas Jefferson [1]
	elected: 1 Jun 1779; took oath: date unknown; re-elected: 2 Jun 1780; took oath: date unknown
2 Jun 1781 - 19 Jun 1781	office vacant [2]
19 Jun 1781 - 22 Nov 1781	Thomas Nelson, Jr. [3]
	elected: 12 Jun 1781; took oath: 19 Jun 1781; resignation submitted to the House: 22 Nov 1781
22 Nov 1781 - 30 Nov 1781	office vacant
1 Dec 1781 - 28 Nov 1784	Benjamin Harrison
	elected: 30 Nov 1781; took oath: 1 Dec 1781; re-elected: 20 Nov 1782; took oath: 30 Nov 1782; re-elected: 27 Nov 1783; commencement of term as fixed at election: 30 Nov 1783; took oath: 2 Dec 1783; resignation submittted to the House: 24 Nov 1784 (to be effective on 29 Nov 1784)
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (ex officio)
29 Nov 1784 - 21? Dec 1784	Beverley Randolph
Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
21? Dec 1784 - 29 Nov 1786	Patrick Henry
	elected: 17 Nov 1784; commencement of term as fixed at election: 30 Nov 1784; took oath: 21? Dec 1784; re-elected: 25 Nov 1785; commencement of term as fixed at election: 30 Nov 1785; took oath: date unknown
1 Dec 1786 - 12 Nov 1788	Edmund Jennings Randolph
	elected: 7 Nov 1786; commencement of term as fixed at election: 30 Nov 1786; took oath: 1 Dec 1786; re-elected: 23 Oct 1787; took oath: 1 Dec 1787; resignation submitted to the House: 12 Nov 1788
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (ex officio)
12 Nov 1788 - 6 Dec 1788	Beverley Randolph
Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
6 Dec 1788 - 30 Nov 1791	Beverley Randolph
	elected: 3 Dec 1788; commencement of term as fixed at election: 3 Dec 1788; took oath: 6 Dec 1788; re-elected: 28 Nov 1789; commencement of term as fixed at election: 3 Dec 1789; took oath: 8 Dec 1789; elected: 26 Nov 1790; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1790; took oath: 3 Dec 1790
1 Dec 1791 - 30 Nov 1794	Henry Lee
	elected: 2 Nov 1791; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1791; took oath: date unknown; re-elected: 25 Oct 1792; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1792; took oath: date unknown; elected: 9 Nov 1793; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1793; took oath: 3 Dec 1793
1 Dec 1794 - 30 Nov 1796	Robert Brooke
	elected: 20 Nov 1794; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1794; took oath: 1 Dec 1794; re-elected: 26 Nov 1795; commencement of term as fixed at election: 1 Dec 1795; took oath: 1 Dec 1795
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (ex officio)
1 Dec 1796 - 7 Dec 1796	James Wood [4]
Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
7 Dec 1796 - 7 Dec 1799	James Wood
	elected: 6 Dec 1796; took oath: 7 Dec 1796; re-elected: 7 Dec 1797; took oath: date unknown; re-elected: 7 Dec 1798; took oath: 10 Dec 1798
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (ex officio)
7 Dec 1799 - 11 Dec 1799	Hardin Burnley
11 Dec 1799 - 19 Dec 1799	John Pendleton
Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
19 Dec 1799 - 10 Dec 1802	James Monroe
	elected: 6 Dec 1799; took oath: 19 Dec 1799; re-elected: 6 Dec 1800; took oath: date unknown; re-elected: 10 Dec 1801; took oath: 11 Dec 1801
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (ex officio)
10 Dec 1802 - 24 Dec 1802	John Guerrant (?)
Governor or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
24 Dec 1802 - 10 Dec 1805	John Page
	elected: 11 Dec 1802; took oath: 24 Dec 1802; re-elected: 19 Dec 1803; took oath: 20 Dec 1803; re-elected: 7 Dec 1804; took oath: date unknown

Jefferson was elected on 1 Jun 1779 and accepted the election by a letter submitted to the House of Delegates and to the Senate on 2 Jun 1779. The certificate of taking the oath of office is not known to be extant. He was re-elected on 2 Jun 1780 and was last present at the session of the Privy Council or Council of State on 2 Jun 1781.
Following the expiration of the term of Thomas Jefferson as Governor (presumably on 2 Jun 1781), the functions of the office devolved on the President of the Privy Council or Council of State, but this office had been vacant since 13 or 14 May 1781; William Fleming, a member of the Council, exercised some executive functions of government de facto. Nelson was elected by joint ballot of the House and Senate "for one year" on 12 Jun 1781 and took the oath of office on 19 Jun 1781.
The office of Governor became vacant on 22 Nov 1781 when Nelson submitted his resignation while the office of his constitutional successor, the President of the Council of State, had become vacant earlier. The Council lacked quorum between 22 Nov 1781 and 30 Nov 1781 inclusively. Harrison was elected on 30 Nov 1781 and took oath of office on 1 Dec 1781.
Patrick Henry was elected on 25 Nov 1796, but declined to serve.