# Dean of the United States House of Representatives

The dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of the House. The current dean is Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, who has served in the House since 1981. The dean is a symbolic post, whose only customary duty is to swear in a speaker of the House after the speaker is elected. This responsibility was first recorded in 1819 but has not been observed continuously – at times, the speaker-elect was the current dean or the speaker-elect preferred to be sworn in by a member of their own party when the dean belonged to another party. The dean comes forward on the House Floor to administer the oath to the speaker-elect, before the new speaker then administers the oath to the other members.
While deans perform the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected speaker, they do not preside over the election of a speaker, as do the Father of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and the dean of the Canadian House of Commons (that duty falls to the previous House's Clerk).
Because of other privileges associated with seniority, the dean is usually allotted some of the most desirable office space, and is generally either chair or ranking minority member of an influential committee.
It is unclear when the position first achieved concrete recognition, though the seniority system and increasing lengths of service emerged in the early 20th century. As late as 1924, Frederick H. Gillett was dean, and also speaker, before becoming a senator. Modern deans move into their positions so late in their careers that a move to the Senate is highly unlikely. When Ed Markey broke Gillett's record for time in the House before moving to the Senate in 2013 he was still decades junior to the sitting dean.
The deanship can change hands unexpectedly. In the 1952 election, Adolph J. Sabath became the first Representative elected to a 24th term, breaking the record of 23 terms first set by former Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon, whose service had been non-consecutive, whereas Sabath's was not. North Carolina's Robert L. Doughton had not contested that election as he was retiring at the age of 89 years and two months, a House age record broken in 1998 by Sidney R. Yates, and again by Ralph Hall in 2012. However, Sabath died before the new term began and Doughton was dean for the old term's final months before Speaker Sam Rayburn became dean in the new Congress.

## List of deans of the House

Years as dean are followed by name, party, state, and start of service in Congress.
All the members of the First Congress had equal seniority (as defined for the purpose of this article), but Muhlenberg, as the speaker, was the first member to be sworn in. Muhlenberg, Hartley and Thatcher were among the 13 members who attended the initial meeting of the House on March 4, 1789.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some state delegations to the House were often not elected until after the term had begun. To avoid confusion, this fact is ignored in the list below.
| Became dean | End date | Dean | Party | State | Seniority from | Speaker(s) |
| March 4, 1789 | March 3, 1797 | Frederick Muhlenberg | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Frederick Muhlenberg (1789–1791) |
| March 4, 1789 | March 3, 1797 | Frederick Muhlenberg | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (1791–1793) |
| March 4, 1789 | March 3, 1797 | Frederick Muhlenberg | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Frederick Muhlenberg (1793–1795) |
| March 4, 1789 | March 3, 1797 | Frederick Muhlenberg | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Jonathan Dayton (1795–1799) |
| March 4, 1797 | December 21, 1800 | Thomas Hartley | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Jonathan Dayton (1795–1799) |
| March 4, 1797 | December 21, 1800 | Thomas Hartley | Federalist | PA | March 4, 1789 | Theodore Sedgwick (1799–1801) |
| March 4, 1797 | March 3, 1801 | George Thatcher | Federalist | MA | March 4, 1789 | Theodore Sedgwick (1799–1801) |
| March 4, 1801 | March 3, 1803 | William B. Grove | Federalist | NC | March 4, 1791 | Nathaniel Macon (1801–1807) |
| March 4, 1801 | March 3, 1807 | Andrew Gregg | Democratic-Republican | PA | March 4, 1791 | Nathaniel Macon (1801–1807) |
| March 4, 1801 | December 13, 1815 | Nathaniel Macon | Democratic-Republican | NC | March 4, 1791 | Joseph Bradley Varnum (1807–1811) |
| March 4, 1801 | December 13, 1815 | Nathaniel Macon | Democratic-Republican | NC | March 4, 1791 | Henry Clay (1811–1814) |
| March 4, 1801 | December 13, 1815 | Nathaniel Macon | Democratic-Republican | NC | March 4, 1791 | Langdon Cheves (1814–1815) |
| December 13, 1815 | April 9, 1816 | Richard Stanford | Democratic-Republican | NC | March 4, 1797 | Henry Clay (1815–1820) |
| April 9, 1816 | March 3, 1817 | John Davenport | Federalist | CT | March 4, 1799 | Henry Clay (1815–1820) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | Democratic-Republican (1817–1825) | VA | March 4, 1801 | Henry Clay (1815–1820) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | Democratic-Republican (1817–1825) | VA | March 4, 1801 | John Taylor (1820–1821) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | Democratic-Republican (1817–1825) | VA | March 4, 1801 | Philip P. Barbour (1821–1823) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | Democratic-Republican (1817–1825) | VA | March 4, 1801 | Henry Clay (1823–1825) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | National Republican (1825–1830) | VA | March 4, 1801 | John Taylor (1825–1827) |
| March 4, 1817 | March 3, 1830 | Thomas Newton Jr. | National Republican (1825–1830) | VA | March 4, 1801 | Andrew Stevenson (1827–1834) |
| March 4, 1830 | March 3, 1833 | William McCoy | Jacksonian | VA | March 4, 1811 | Andrew Stevenson (1827–1834) |
| March 4, 1833 | February 23, 1842 | Lewis Williams | National Republican (1833–1837) | NC | March 4, 1815 | Andrew Stevenson (1827–1834) |
| March 4, 1833 | February 23, 1842 | Lewis Williams | National Republican (1833–1837) | NC | March 4, 1815 | John Bell (1834–1835) |
| March 4, 1833 | February 23, 1842 | Lewis Williams | National Republican (1833–1837) | NC | March 4, 1815 | James K. Polk (1835–1839) |
| March 4, 1833 | February 23, 1842 | Lewis Williams | Whig (1837–1842) | NC | March 4, 1815 | Robert M. T. Hunter (1839–1841) |
| March 4, 1833 | February 23, 1842 | Lewis Williams | Whig (1837–1842) | NC | March 4, 1815 | John White (1841–1843) |
| February 23, 1842 | March 3, 1843 | Horace Everett | Whig | VT | March 4, 1829 | John Winston Jones (1843–1845) |
| February 23, 1842 | April 22, 1844 | Dixon H. Lewis | Democratic | AL | March 4, 1829 | John Winston Jones (1843–1845) |
| April 22, 1844 | February 23, 1848 | John Quincy Adams | Whig | MA | March 4, 1831 | John Wesley Davis (1845–1847) |
| April 22, 1844 | February 23, 1848 | John Quincy Adams | Whig | MA | March 4, 1831 | Robert Charles Winthrop (1847–1849) |
| April 22, 1844 | March 3, 1849 | James I. McKay | Democratic | NC | March 4, 1831 | Robert Charles Winthrop (1847–1849) |
| March 4, 1849 | March 3, 1855 | Linn Boyd | Democratic | KY | March 4, 1839 | Howell Cobb (1849–1851) |
| March 4, 1849 | March 3, 1855 | Linn Boyd | Democratic | KY | March 4, 1839 | Linn Boyd (1851–1856) |
| March 4, 1855 | March 3, 1859 | Joshua Reed Giddings | Republican | OH | May 5, 1842 | Nathaniel P. Banks (1856–1857) |
| March 4, 1855 | March 3, 1859 | Joshua Reed Giddings | Republican | OH | May 5, 1842 | James Lawrence Orr (1857–1860) |
| March 4, 1859 | March 3, 1863 | John S. Phelps | Democratic | MO | March 4, 1845 | William Pennington (1860–1861) |
| March 4, 1859 | March 3, 1863 | John S. Phelps | Democratic | MO | March 4, 1845 | Galusha A. Grow (1861–1863) |
| March 4, 1863 | March 3, 1869 | Elihu B. Washburne | Republican | IL | March 4, 1853 | Schuyler Colfax (1863–1869) |
| March 4, 1863 | March 3, 1869 | Elihu B. Washburne | Republican | IL | March 4, 1853 | Theodore M. Pomeroy (1869) |
| March 4, 1869 | March 3, 1875 | Henry L. Dawes | Republican | MA | March 4, 1857 | James G. Blaine (1869–1875) |
| March 4, 1875 | January 9, 1890 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | March 4, 1861 | Michael C. Kerr (1875–1876) |
| March 4, 1875 | January 9, 1890 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | March 4, 1861 | Samuel J. Randall (1876–1881) |
| March 4, 1875 | January 9, 1890 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | March 4, 1861 | J. Warren Keifer (1881–1883) |
| March 4, 1875 | January 9, 1890 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | March 4, 1861 | John G. Carlisle (1883–1889) |
| March 4, 1875 | January 9, 1890 | William D. Kelley | Republican | PA | March 4, 1861 | Thomas Brackett Reed (1889–1891) |
| January 9, 1890 | April 13, 1890 | Samuel J. Randall | Democratic | PA | March 4, 1863 | Thomas Brackett Reed (1889–1891) |
| April 13, 1890 | March 3, 1891 | Joseph G. Cannon | Republican | IL | March 4, 1873 | Thomas Brackett Reed (1889–1891) |
| April 13, 1890 | March 22, 1892 | Roger Q. Mills | Democratic | TX | March 4, 1873 | Charles Frederick Crisp (1891–1895) |
| April 13, 1890 | March 3, 1893 | James H. Blount | Democratic | GA | March 4, 1873 | Charles Frederick Crisp (1891–1895) |
| April 13, 1890 | March 3, 1895 | Richard P. Bland | Democratic | MO | March 4, 1873 | Charles Frederick Crisp (1891–1895) |
| March 4, 1895 | March 3, 1897 | David B. Culberson | Democratic | TX | March 4, 1875 | Thomas Brackett Reed (1895–1899) |
| March 4, 1897 | September 4, 1899 | Thomas Brackett Reed | Republican | ME | March 4, 1877 | Thomas Brackett Reed (1895–1899) |
| March 4, 1897 | March 6, 1900 | Alfred C. Harmer | Republican | PA | March 4, 1877 | David B. Henderson (1899–1903) |
| March 6, 1900 | March 22, 1912 | Henry H. Bingham | Republican | PA | March 4, 1879 | David B. Henderson (1899–1903) |
| March 6, 1900 | March 22, 1912 | Henry H. Bingham | Republican | PA | March 4, 1879 | Joseph G. Cannon (1903–1911) |
| March 6, 1900 | March 22, 1912 | Henry H. Bingham | Republican | PA | March 4, 1879 | Champ Clark (1911–1919) |
| March 22, 1912 | March 3, 1913 | John Dalzell | Republican | PA | March 4, 1887 | Champ Clark (1911–1919) |
| March 4, 1913 | December 10, 1914 | Sereno E. Payne | Republican | NY | March 4, 1889 | Champ Clark (1911–1919) |
| December 10, 1914 | April 17, 1918 | William Jones | Democratic | VA | March 4, 1891 | Champ Clark (1911–1919) |
| April 17, 1918 | March 3, 1919 | Henry Allen Cooper | Republican | WI | March 4, 1893 | Frederick H. Gillett (1919–1925) |
| April 17, 1918 | March 3, 1925 | Frederick H. Gillett | Republican | MA | March 4, 1893 | Frederick H. Gillett (1919–1925) |
| March 4, 1925 | May 26, 1928 | Thomas S. Butler | Republican | PA | March 4, 1897 | Nicholas Longworth (1925–1931) |
| May 26, 1928 | March 3, 1933 | Gilbert N. Haugen | Republican | IA | March 4, 1899 | Nicholas Longworth (1925–1931) |
| May 26, 1928 | March 3, 1933 | Gilbert N. Haugen | Republican | IA | March 4, 1899 | John Nance Garner (1931–1933) |
| March 4, 1933 | April 1, 1934 | Edward W. Pou | Democratic | NC | March 4, 1901 | Henry T. Rainey (1933–1935) |
| April 1, 1934 | November 6, 1952 | Adolph Sabath | Democratic | IL | March 4, 1907 | Jo Byrns (1935–1936) |
| April 1, 1934 | November 6, 1952 | Adolph Sabath | Democratic | IL | March 4, 1907 | William B. Bankhead (1936–1940) |
| April 1, 1934 | November 6, 1952 | Adolph Sabath | Democratic | IL | March 4, 1907 | Sam Rayburn (1940–1947) |
| April 1, 1934 | November 6, 1952 | Adolph Sabath | Democratic | IL | March 4, 1907 | Joseph W. Martin Jr. (1947–1949) |
| April 1, 1934 | November 6, 1952 | Adolph Sabath | Democratic | IL | March 4, 1907 | Sam Rayburn (1949–1953) |
| November 6, 1952 | January 3, 1953 | Robert L. Doughton | Democratic | NC | March 4, 1911 | Sam Rayburn (1949–1953) |
| January 3, 1953 | November 16, 1961 | Sam Rayburn | Democratic | TX | March 4, 1913 | Joseph W. Martin Jr. (1953–1955) |
| January 3, 1953 | November 16, 1961 | Sam Rayburn | Democratic | TX | March 4, 1913 | Sam Rayburn (1955–1961) |
| November 16, 1961 | January 3, 1965 | Carl Vinson | Democratic | GA | November 3, 1914 | John W. McCormack (1962–1971) |
| January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1973 | Emanuel Celler | Democratic | NY | March 4, 1923 | John W. McCormack (1962–1971) |
| January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1973 | Emanuel Celler | Democratic | NY | March 4, 1923 | Carl Albert (1971–1977) |
| January 3, 1973 | March 7, 1976 | Wright Patman | Democratic | TX | March 4, 1929 | Carl Albert (1971–1977) |
| March 7, 1976 | January 3, 1979 | George H. Mahon | Democratic | TX | January 3, 1935 | Tip O'Neill (1977–1987) |
| January 3, 1979 | January 3, 1995 | Jamie Whitten | Democratic | MS | November 4, 1941 | Tip O'Neill (1977–1987) |
| January 3, 1979 | January 3, 1995 | Jamie Whitten | Democratic | MS | November 4, 1941 | Jim Wright (1987–1989) |
| January 3, 1979 | January 3, 1995 | Jamie Whitten | Democratic | MS | November 4, 1941 | Tom Foley (1989–1995) |
| January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2015 | John Dingell | Democratic | MI | December 13, 1955 | Newt Gingrich (1995–1999) |
| January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2015 | John Dingell | Democratic | MI | December 13, 1955 | Dennis Hastert (1999–2007) |
| January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2015 | John Dingell | Democratic | MI | December 13, 1955 | Nancy Pelosi (2007–2011) |
| January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2015 | John Dingell | Democratic | MI | December 13, 1955 | John Boehner (2011–2015) |
| January 3, 2015 | December 5, 2017 | John Conyers | Democratic | MI | January 3, 1965 | John Boehner (2011–2015) |
| January 3, 2015 | December 5, 2017 | John Conyers | Democratic | MI | January 3, 1965 | Paul Ryan (2015–2019) |
| December 5, 2017 | March 18, 2022 | Don Young | Republican | AK | March 6, 1973 | Paul Ryan (2015–2019) |
| December 5, 2017 | March 18, 2022 | Don Young | Republican | AK | March 6, 1973 | Nancy Pelosi (2019–2023) |
| March 18, 2022 | Incumbent | Hal Rogers | Republican | KY | January 3, 1981 | Nancy Pelosi (2019–2023) |
| March 18, 2022 | Incumbent | Hal Rogers | Republican | KY | January 3, 1981 | Kevin McCarthy (2023) |
| March 18, 2022 | Incumbent | Hal Rogers | Republican | KY | January 3, 1981 | Mike Johnson (2023–present) |