Political Figures

Appointed by President Andrew Johnson in 1865, Alexander Cummings (1810–79) was the third governor of the Territory of Colorado . Originally from Pennsylvania, Cummings gained his office as governor in 1865 largely because he served the Union during the Civil War . His time in office was fraught...

Byron White (1917–2002) was Colorado’s first-ever US Supreme Court justice, serving from 1962 to 1993, as well as a nationally known college athlete for the University of Colorado and a star pro football player. As a justice, White was remembered for his belief in judicial restraint, writing brief...

Dean Reed (1938–86) was a singer-songwriter and actor from Denver who enjoyed a stint of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s before experiencing a slow slide into obscurity by the end of his life. Best known for his time spent living and recording in the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, Reed’s life reflects the intense polarization of the world he wrote about as well as the political activism typical of many musicians at the time.

Diana DeGette (1957– ) is a lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado’s First Congressional District —the city of Denver —in the US House of Representatives since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party , DeGette is known for her ardent support of reproductive and civil rights,...

Eliza Pickrell Routt (1839–1907) was the first First Lady of the territory and later state of Colorado in 1875–79 and 1891–93. A strong supporter of women’s suffrage , she used her position as wife of Governor John Long Routt to advocate for expanded voting rights. When Colorado became the second...

Frances S. Klock (1844–1908) was one of the first three women—along with Clara Cressingham and Carrie Clyde Holly —to serve as a state legislator in the United States. The three ran for office in 1894, one year after women in Colorado achieved the right to vote . In addition to serving as a member...

Gertrude Hill Berger Cuthbert (1869–1944) was a Denver socialite and philanthropist. Born into a prominent family, she inherited drive and ambition from her successful parents and established a legacy for herself in politics, suffrage , and local charitable organizations. She was regarded as one of...

Henry Moore Teller (1830–1914) was a successful Colorado businessman, lawyer, and politician. His business and legal interests, which included mining and helping to organize the Colorado Central Railroad , were surpassed only by his political achievements. Teller served five full terms as US...

Jane Woodhouse McLaughlin (1914–2004) moved Colorado toward a more rights-based society for individuals with mental illness. As an assistant city attorney for Denver , first president of the Colorado Association for Mental Health, and a Democratic state representative, McLaughlin helped reform...

Joseph “Joe” D. Neguse (1984–) is a politician who represents Colorado’s Second Congressional District , which includes Boulder , Fort Collins , and most of the northern Front Range . A member of the Democratic Party , Neguse is the first African American elected to Congress from Colorado. He...

John Wright Hickenlooper II (1952– ) is a Colorado businessman and politician who served as mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011 and forty-third governor of the state from 2011 to 2019. In 2020 Hickenlooper was elected to the US Senate. In 1988 he founded Wynkoop Brewing Company , Denver’s first...

John R. Smith (1860–1927) was Colorado’s chief state prohibition officer during the years 1923–25. He successfully rooted out black-market alcohol crime but received harsh public criticism for his often-unconstitutional methods. He brought his friends on “booze” raids and did not shy away from...

Ken Buck (1959–) is an attorney and politician from Weld County . He represents Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District in the US House of Representatives, an office he has held since 2015, winning reelection in 2016 and 2018. Since March 2019, Buck has served as head of Colorado’s Republican...

Major Lafayette Head (1825–97) was an Indian agent to the Ute tribe for nine years after serving in the Mexican American War. In 1877, he became the first lieutenant governor of Colorado. He was influential in the early development of towns across the San Luis Valley . Born in Hunter...

Mark Emery Udall (1950–) is a former US representative (1999–2008) and senator (2009–14) from Colorado. A member of the Democratic Party , Udall comes from a prominent political family in the American West. His father was former senator Morris Udall; his uncle was three-term congressman Stewart Lee...

Mike Coffman (1955–) is a Colorado politician who is currently the mayor of Aurora , his childhood hometown. From 2009 to 2019, Coffman served in Congress, representing Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District , which includes Aurora. He also previously served as the state’s treasurer and secretary...

Nathaniel Peter Hill (1832–1900) was a mining entrepreneur and US senator from Colorado. In the 1860s, Hill, an accomplished chemist and metallurgist, bought mining interests in Black Hawk and developed the first successful smelter in Colorado, revolutionizing the mining industry in the fledgling...

The Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association was the main organization in Colorado working toward granting women the right to vote . The association and its precursors were influential for more than thirty years, from Colorado’s failed suffrage referendum in 1877 to its successful suffrage...

Patricia “Pat” Stryker (1956–) is a Colorado-based businesswoman and philanthropist. With an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion, Stryker has donated more than $195 million to charity in her lifetime, mostly through the Bohemian Foundation , her Fort Collins –based nonprofit. In addition to charity...

Ralph Lawrence Carr (1887–1950) was governor of Colorado from 1939 to 1943. Carr is remembered for his outspoken criticism of the federal government’s internment of Japanese Americans during World War II , even though a regional concentration camp, Amache , operated inside his state’s borders. His...

Sadie Likens (c. 1840–1920) was a prominent officer of the court in Denver ’s formative period, served as Colorado’s first prison matron, and was also known for her charitable work on behalf of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and other women’s organizations. Before losing her job as prison...

Holding political offices in Wisconsin and Colorado throughout his life, Samuel G. Colley (1807–90) is best known for serving as Indian Agent for the Upper Arkansas Indian Agency from 1860 to 1865. He was responsible for managing the Cheyenne and Arapaho prior to and during the Colorado War (1863–...

At the memorial service for long-time congressman Wayne Aspinall in 1983, Colorado Governor Richard Lamm said, “you can’t take a drink of water in Colorado without remembering Wayne Aspinall.” Wayne Norviel Aspinall (1896–1983) was born in Ohio and moved with his family to Palisade , Colorado, in...

William Gilpin (1815–94) served as the first governor of Colorado Territory in 1861–62. A gifted speaker with a flair for the dramatic, Gilpin was a firm believer in Manifest Destiny and in Colorado’s importance to the young American West. As governor during the Civil War , Gilpin illegally raised...