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California State Librarians

Prior to 1861 the Secretary of of State was the ex officio State Librarian. By an act approved March 8, 1861, the position of State Librarian became a separate office.

ex officio State Librarians (1849 - 1862)
William Van Voorhies (1849 - 1853)
James W. Denver (1853 - 1855)
Charles H. Hempstead (1855 - 1857)
David F. Douglass (1857 - 1858)
Ferris Forman (1858 - 1860)
Johnson Price (1860 - 1862)

State Librarians (1861 - present)
William Crapo Stratton (1861 - 1870)
William Neely Johnson (Jan. 24 - Apr. 5, 1870)
Robert Oscar Cravens (Apr. 5, 1870 - 1882)
Talbot H. Wallis (1882 - 1890)
William Dana Perkins (1890 - 1896)
William Pierce Mathews (1896 - 1897)
Edward Dennis McCabe (1897 - 1898)
Frank L. Coombs (1898 - 1899)
James L. Gillis (1899 - 1917)
Milton J. Ferguson (1917 - 1930)
Mabel R. Gillis (1930 - 1951)
Carma Leigh (1951 - 1972)
Ethel Crockett (1972 - 1980)
Gary E. Strong (1980 - 1994)
Dr. Kevin Starr (1994 - 2004)
Susan Hildreth (2004 - 2009)
Stacey Aldrich (2009--)

California, government, people

Websites

• California State Library
  Lists State Librarians from 1849 to the present.

Other

• The California State Library Foundation Bulletin
  Number 43, April 1993, includes a photograph and office years for the California State Librarian from 1899 - 1980. Number 68, 2000, includes biographies of State Librarians from 1850 to the present.

Last updated by cowend on Dec. 14, 2009

Disclaimer...

While the Library has verified the information presented in these files in what it considers to be reliable and authoritative sources, it cannot take responsibility for nor guarantee the accuracy of the information presented.