You might have heard that Andrew Jackson, for whom Jacksonville was named, was the first governor of Florida. That's almost correct. He was appointed military commissioner of East Florida by President James Monroe in 1821 after the United States acquired the land from Spain.
Jackson resigned the job after nine months and returned to his beloved Tennessee. Eight years later, he was elected president of the United States.
The year after Jackson left Florida, East Florida and West Florida were combined into the Florida Territory.. Over the next two decades, six "governors" were appointed by various presidents. The territory's first appointed governor was William Pope Duval, the namesake of Duval County,
Since Florida became a state in1845, its citizens have elected its governor. Scroll through our timeline to learn about each of them.
Sources: State Library and Archives of Florida, Wikipedia