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Kentucky was initially Kentucky County in Virginia. It achieved statehood and was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792; see the list of governors of Virginia for the period before statehood. There have been 59 governors, serving 63 distinct terms.
An unelected group proclaimed Kentucky's secession from the Union on November 20, 1861, and it was annexed by the Confederate States of America on December 10, 1861. The Confederate government elected two governors (listed separately), but it never held much control over the state, and the main line of governors was preserved.
Andy Beshear is the 63rd and current (2024) governor, having served since 10 December 2019. Isaac Shelby was 1st and 5th Governor of Kentucky.
1st Isaac Shelby
2nd James Garrard
3rd Christopher Greenup
4th Charles Scott
5th Isaac Shelby
6th George Madison
7th Gabriel Slaughter
8th John Adair
9th Joseph Desha
10th Thomas Metcalfe
11th John Breathitt
12th James Turner Morehead
13th James Clark
14th Charles A. Wickliffe
15th Robert P. Letcher
16th William Owsley
17th John J. Crittenden
18th John L. Helm
19th Lazarus W. Powell
20th Charles S. Morehead
21st Beriah Magoffin
22nd James Fisher Robinson
23rd Thomas E. Bramlette
24th John L. Helm
25th John W. Stevenson
26th Preston Leslie
27th James B. McCreary
28th Luke P. Blackburn
29th J. Proctor Knott
30th Simon Bolivar Buckner
31st John Y. Brown
32nd William O'Connell Bradley
33rd William S. Taylor
34th William Goebel
35th J. C. W. Beckham
36th Augustus E. Willson
37th James B. McCreary
38th Augustus Owsley Stanley
39th James D. Black
40th Edwin P. Morrow
41st William J. Fields
42nd Flem D. Sampson
43rd Ruby Laffoon
44th Happy Chandler
45th Keen Johnson
46th Simeon Willis
47th Earle Clements
48th Lawrence Wetherby
49th Happy Chandler
50th Bert Combs
51st Ned Breathitt
52nd Louie Nunn
53rd Wendell Ford
54th Julian Carroll
55th John Y. Brown Jr.
56th Martha Layne Collins
57th Wallace Wilkinson
58th Brereton C. Jones
59th Paul E. Patton
60th Ernie Fletcher
61st Steve Beshear
62nd Matt Bevin
63rd Andy Beshear