What is unique about Utah...Each Utah Governor.

 On January 4, 2021, Utah swore in the 18th State Governor.  Here is what is unique about each state governor.

Heber Manning Wells

• Utah's first Governor
• Served from 1896 to 1905
• He was a member of the Republican party
• First banker to serve as governor
• Utah's first governor born in Utah Territory
• He was mayor of Salt Lake City before his election as governor
• He was a delegate to the Utah State Constitutional Convention
• He was the first Utah governor from Salt Lake County  (Assume Salt Lake County unless otherwise mentioned)
• He was the first Utah governor who graduated from the University of Utah  (Assume the University of Utah unless otherwise mentioned)
• First Utah Governor that was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints  (Assume that future governors mentioned are members of the LDS Faith unless otherwise noted)
• Wells was Utah's only governor who practiced plural marriage, the practice of having multiple wives.  He was pardoned for any violation of Bigamy laws by President Grover Clevland before Utah became a state under the condition that each wife had a separate residence.  Through his three wives, he fathered 7 children.
• His father was a counselor (or assistant) to President Brigham Young and dedicated the Saint George Utah Temple, the first LDS temple in the west.  His father had seven wives. His full brother, Briant Harris Wells, was a Major General in the US Army.  His half-sister, Anne Wells Cannon, was a prominent suffragette.
• The University of Utah was moved from Union (Now part of Cottonwood Heights) to Salt Lake City during his tenure.
• Branch Normal School for Teachers in Cedar City, now Southern Utah University was founded during his tenure.
• Wells served for two four-year terms, but lost in his bid for a third term in the Republican Primary
• He died in 1938

John Christopher Cutler

• Served from 1905 to 1909
• Was a member of the Republican Party
• First businessman to serve as governor
• He was Utah's first governor who was an immigrant to the United States and a Naturalized Citizen.  He was born in Sheffield, England
• He was a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• He was Utah's first governor who did not practice polygamy
• He was the first Utah governor who did not gain an education beyond high school
• He and his wife, Sarah Taylor, had 7 children
• He was the first and hopefully only Utah Governor who died by suicide.  The reasons for his suicide are unknown.
• He served one term after loosing in the another Republican challenger in a primary election, William Spry
• Cutler Dam and Reservoir are named in his honor
• He died in 1928

William Spry

• Served from 1909 to 1917
• Was a Member of the Republican Party
• Was also an immigrant from England, and a naturalized US Citizen.
• He was the first Utah Governor from Tooele County
• He was the first and so far only governor of Utah who had a career in Law Enforcement
• He was the first Utah Governor who served in the Utah House of Representatives
• Twice vetoed bills that would have brought prohibition to Utah before the 18th Amendment was ratified
• He was head of the General of the Land Office after serving as Utah Governor.  The first governor to hold a position in the Federal Government after service as Governor.  (This position was replaced by the BLM in the 1940s.)
• He served two terms as Utah Governor.  He did not run for a third.
• He and his wife Mary had 3 children
• He was the first Utah governor to die out of state.  He died in Washington DC in 1929.

Simon Bamberger

• Served from 1917 to 1921
• He was the first member of the Democratic Party to be elected as Utah's governor.
• He was in mining, hotels and other business.
• He did not have a university education
• He was Utah's first Governor who was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• He was the first and so far only Jew to serve as Governor of Utah
• He was the most recent Utah Governor who was not a Natural-Born US Citizen.
• He was the most recent Utah Governor to be born outside the United States.  He was born in Darmstadt-Eberstadt, Germany 
• He was the third Governor of a state in the United States who was Jewish.
• He founded and owned the Lagoon Amusement Park
• He was the first Governor who served in the Utah State Senate
• He was the first millionaire to serve as Utah's Governor
• Even though he was a Democrat, he followed the progressive policies of Theodore Roosevelt
• He and his wife Ida had 4 children
• He only served one term and did not run for a second.  He was already 75 and ready to retire when his term was up.
• He died in 1926

Charles Mabey

• Served from 1921 to 1925
• He was a member of the Republican Party
• He served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives
• He was the first Utah Governor from Davis County
• He was a banker by trade
• He and his wife Afton had four children
• He was the first Utah Governor who served as an active duty member of the Armed Forces.  He served in the artillery during World War I.
• He served for one term and lost in his bid for re-election to Democrat Goerge Dern
• He is the most recent Utah Governor to only be elected once.
• He died in 1959

George Dern

• Served from 1925 to 1933
• He was a member of the Democratic Party.
• He served in the Utah State Senate before being elected as governor
• He was the first Utah Governor to be a natural born US Citizen, but was not born in the territory or state of Utah.  He was born in Nebraska.
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor to have a Bachelor's Degree but did not earn it at a Utah-Based University.  He earned his degree at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
• He was Utah's only Protestant governor.  The second who was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Dern earned a degree in engineer.  He came to Utah to work in the mining industry
• He was known as a champion of protecting Utah's natural resources
• He served two terms.
• After his service as Governor, he became the first former Utah Governor to serve in a presidential cabinet.  He served as Secretary of War from 1933 until his untimely death in 1936.  
• He died in Washington, DC.
• He and his wife Dottie had 7 children
• He is the Grandfather of Academy-Award winning actor Bruce Dern and the Great-grandfather of actress Laura Dern

Henry H Blood

• Served from 1933 to 1941
• He was a member of the Democratic Party
• He served in the Utah State Senate before being elected as Governor
• He served during the Great Depression
• He and his wife Minnie had four children
• Blood was the president of a milling company
• He was Utah's second and most recent governor from Davis County
• College of Eastern Utah was founded in his administration
• Prohibition was repealed during his tenure, with Utah casting the final vote for repeal
• He was the most recent Utah Governor to not have at least attended a university after high school
• He served two terms, accepting a call to serve as a mission president afterwards, but died before receiving an assignment.
• He died in 1942, a little over a year after leaving office

Herbert B Maw

• Served from 1941 to 1949
• He was a member of the Democratic Party
• He was the last Utah Governor born in Utah Territory before Utah became a state.
• He was the first educator to be elected as Utah's governor.  He taught at the University of Utah
• He served in the Army during the First World War.  He served as a chaplain.  
• Maw was a member of the Utah State Senate before elected as Governor
• Maw and his wife Florence had five children
• The 1944 election between Maw and J. Bracken Lee was the closest such election in Utah history.  Maw won a second term.  In the 1948 rematch, Lee won.
• He died in 1990

J. Bracken Lee

• Served from 1949 to 1957
• He was a member of the Republican Party.
• He was the first and so far only governor of Utah from Carbon county.
• He was in the Insurance industry before entering politics
• He was the first Utah Governor to be born in Utah as a state and not a territory.
• He served as the mayor of Price, Utah before being elected as governor.
• Lee was a training sergeant in US Army during the first world war
• Lee was the most recent Utah Governor not to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He did not belong to any religious community and may have been the first atheist state governor in the United States.  But he was a Freemason, and belief in God is a requirement of Freemasonry.  Therefore, this can not be a conclusive statement.
• He was the first and only Freemason to serve as Utah Governor.
• Lee and his wife Margaret had 3 children.
• After serving as governor, he ran for President of the United States under the Conservative (not Republican) party banner 1960.  He was the first former Utah Governor to run for President in any party.  John F. Kennedy won the election.
• In 1956, he left the Republican Party and ran for a 3rd term as an independent.  He lost to George Dewey Clyde.
• He served as Mayor of Salt Lake City from 1960 to 1972.  The first and so far only governor to serve in elected office after serving as governor.
• He died at the age of 97 in 1996 and lived longer than any other Utah governor

George Dewey Clyde

• He served from 1957 to 1965
• He was a member of the Republican Party
• He was the first and so far only Utah Governor from Cache County
• He served in the Water and Power Board before being elected as Governor
• He was the second governor and most recent governor who was an educator.  He was a long time professor at Utah State University
• He was the first Utah governor who graduated from Utah State University.
• He and his wife Ora had 5 children.
• He served two terms and declined to run for a 3rd.
• He died in 1972

Calvin Rampton

• Served from 1965 to 1977
• He was a member of the Democratic Party
• He was elected as Davis County Attorney before he was called to service during the second world war.
• He was the first Utah Governor who was an attorney by profession.
• He was the only Utah Governor who served in World War 2.  After the war, he remained in the Army Reserve and attained the Rank of Colonel.  This is the highest military rank of a Utah Governor.
• He and his wife Lucybeth had 4 children
• During his term, the position of Secretary of State was eliminated and the position of Lieutenant Governor was created.
• He is the only Utah Governor to serve three full terms.
• He died in 2007
• The Convention Center in Downtown Salt Lake City is named in his honor
• The state office complex in Taylorsville is named in his honor

Scott Matheson

• Served from 1977 to 1985
• He was the second Utah Governor who was an attorney by profession
• He was a member of the Democratic Party
• He is the most recent Democrat to serve as Utah's Governor
• He was the only Utah Governor where Governor was his first elected office
• He received votes for the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention in 1980, but was not a formal candidate.  He declined to run for President of the United States in 1984. 
• He is the only state governor whose lieutenant governor was from a different party.
• He was the second Utah Governor born in a US State other than Utah.  He was born in Chicago.
• He and his wife Norma had 4 children
• He served for two terms and declined to serve a third
• He died in 1990 due to radiation exposure he had earlier in life
• The state courthouse in Salt Lake City is named for his honor

Norman Bangerter

• Served from 1985 to 1993
• He was a member of the Republican Party
• He was a member of the Utah House of Representatives before becoming governor.
• He worked in the Construction industry.
• Beginning with his first election, the office of Governor and Lieutenant Governor were voted together on the same ticket.  He was the first governor with a running mate.
• He earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Utah and a Masters Degree from Brigham Young University.  He is the only Utah governor with an advanced degree from a Utah-based University.
• He is the first Utah governor with an awarded degree from Brigham Young University
• He and his wife Colleen had 6 children
• He died in 2015
• The Bangerter highway in western Salt Lake County is named in his honor

Michael Leavitt

• Served from 1993 to 2003
• He is a member of the Republican Party
• He is the most recent governor who worked in the Insurance Industry
• He is the first and so far only governor to graduate from Southern Utah University
• He is the first and so far only governor from Iron County.
• He and his wife Jacelyn have five children
• He was elected to three terms, but left office during his third term to become the head of the EPA.
• He later served on the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Secretary of Health and Human Services.  He is the second Utah Governor to serve in the Cabinet.
• He is the third-longest serving Utah Governor.
• He was the first Utah Governor to leave office before completing a term.
• He is currently the most senior former Utah Governor still living.  But he is not the oldest former living Utah Governor.

Olene Walker

• Served from 2003 to 2005
• She was a member of the Republican Party
• She was an educational administrator before entering politics
• She was the first and so far only female Utah Governor
• She was the first and so far only Utah Governor who was never elected governor
• She is, so far, the governor with the shortest time in service
• She was in the State House of Representatives before being elected as Utah's Lieutenant Governor with Governor Michael Leavitt.
• She is the only Lieutenant Governor elected three times.
• She is the first Lieutenant Governor to later serve as governor
• She is the first Lieutenant Governor to ascend to the office of governor upon the resignation of her predecessor.  (These are different terms that mean different things.)
• She was the first female Lieutenant Governor (but not the only)
• She is the first and only Governor with a Bachelor's Degree from Brigham Young University.  (Bangerter earned a Masters from BYU.  Herbert attended, but did not graduate.)
• She was the mother of 7 children all through her husband Myron.
• She served the remainder of Leavitt's third term, but did not receive her party's nomination in 2004.  She served for 423 days.
• She is the most recent serving governor who has passed away.  She died in 2015.

Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

• Served from 2005 to 2009
• He is a member of the Republican Party
• He is the most recent Governor to have graduated from the University of Utah
• He is the most recent governor from Salt Lake County
• He is the most recent governor not born in Utah.  He was born in California.  He was the sixth born outside of Utah, and the 3rd born in the United States but in another state.
• He was in the diplomatic corps in the Reagan and George HW Bush administrations before being elected as governor.
• He was US ambassador to Singapore before being elected as governor.
• He also served as deputy trade negotiator
• He served in some capacity in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government under every president from Reagan to Trump.
• He was elected to a second term but left office 8 months into his second term to serve as ambassador to China.  He later served as ambassador to Russia.
• He ran for president in 2008, but John McCain won the Republican nomination.  He is the second and most recent governor to run for President of the United States and the first to seek the nomination from one of the two major parties.
• He and his wife Mary have 7 children.

Gary Herbert

• Served from 2009 to 2021
• He is a member of the Republican Party
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor from Utah County
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor to serve in the National Guard, achieving the rank of Sergeant.
• He was in Real Estate before entering politics
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor to serve as a County Commissioner.
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor to attend college without earning a degree.  He attended Brigham Young University.  He is the most recent governor to attend BYU.
• He is the second lieutenant governor to ascend to office after his predecessor left office.  He served with Jon M. Huntsman Jr.
• He is the first former lieutenant governor to be elected to the office of governor.
• After taking over for Huntsman and completing his term, he was elected to two subsequent terms in office.
• He is the second longest serving Utah Governor
• He is the oldest living former Utah Governor

Spencer J Cox

• In office since January 4, 2021
• Was the first and so far only Utah Governor who took the oath of office outside of Salt Lake City.  He was sworn into office at the outdoor Tuacan Amphitheater in Ivins, Utah.  The change in venue was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor from Sanpete County
• He is the second and most recent Utah Governor who graduated from Utah State University
• He is the first and so far only Utah Governor to have attended Snow College
• He served on the city council of Fairview, Utah and and later became Mayor.  He also served in the Utah House of Representatives before becoming the Lieutenant Governor.
• He is the first former lieutenant governor to be elected as governor without first ascending to the office due to the resignation of his predecessor.  He served with Gary Herbert
• As Lieutenant governor, Cox was the only lieutenant governor to be appointed due to the resignation of the prior office holder.  Cox was appointed in 2015 was elected as LG in 2016.

Utah has never had...

• A governor who has died in office
• A governor who has been impeached
• A governor who was a Roman Catholic
• A governor who was been non-white
• An LGBT Governor
• A governor who was also elected to the US House of Representatives or US Senate
• A governor who has also served as a judge
• A governor who attended Weber State University, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community College, Utah Valley University, College of Eastern Utah or Dixie State University
• A governor who has been divorced
• A governor who has been widowed
• A governor who has also been elected President of the United States
• A governor who has been in the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard or US Space Force.  All Utah Governors who served in the military were in the US Army
• A governor who has attainted the rank of general or admiral in the Armed Forces.
• A governor who served in a foreign military
• A governor who has been a professional athlete
• A governor who has been a professional entertainer
• A governor from one of the following counties: Box Elder, Weber, Rich, Morgan, Summit, Daggett, Duchesne, Wasatch, Uintah, Emery, Grand, San Juan, Sevier, Juab, Beaver, Piute, Kane, Wayne or Washington
• A governor who has also been a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
• A governor that was buried outside of the State of Utah
• A city or town or county that has been named for a Utah Governor