Florida Comptroller

The Florida Comptroller was the state comptroller of Florida from 1845 to 2003 (when the position was merged with the position of Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal to create the post of Chief Financial Officer of Florida following amendments to the state Constitution). The Comptroller was a member of the Florida Cabinet and was elected by the Florida Legislature until 1865, when it became an elected office.

The Comptroller was Florida's chief fiscal officer. The post was created in the 1838 Constitution and the first Comptroller took office in 1845 and assumed the duties of the Auditor of Public Accounts of Florida Territory.

The Comptroller initially was in charge of the Comptroller's Office, whose duties where transferred to the Department of Banking and Finance in 1969 (the Comptroller served as the head of the Department).

List of Comptrollers

• Nathanial P. Bemis (July 23, 1845 - August 26, 1845) and (January 2, 1847 - July 24, 1847)
• Hugh Archer (August 26, 1845- January 2, 1847) and (July 24, 1847 - December 28, 1847)
• Simon Towle (December 28, 1847 - January 25, 1851)
• John Beard (January 25, 1851 - April 3, 1854) and (January 17, 1866 - August 29, 1868)
• Theodore W. Brevard (April 3, 1854 - November 27, 1854) (January 24, 1855 - December 14, 1860)
• James Tillinghast Archer (November 27, 1854 - January 24, 1855)
• Robert C. Williams (December 14, 1860 - May 26, 1863)
• Walter Gwynn (May 26, 1863 - January 17, 1866)
• Robert H. Gamble (August 29, 1868 - January 15, 1873)
• Clayton Cowgill (January 15, 1873 - January 12, 1877)
• Columbus Drew (January 12, 1877 - January 13, 1881)
• William D. Barnes (January 13, 1881 - May 1, 1890)
• William D. Bloxham (May 1, 1890 - January 3, 1897)
• William H. Reynolds (January 3, 1897 - July 29, 1901)
• A. C. Croom (July 29, 1901 - February 17, 1912)
• William V. Knott (February 17, 1912 - January 2, 1917)
• Ernest Amos (January 2, 1917 - January 3, 1933)
• James Martin Lee (J. M. Lee) (January 3, 1933 - October 9, 1946)
• Clarence M. Gay (October 9, 1946 - April 11, 1955)
• Ray E. Green (April 11, 1955 - September 1, 1965)
• Fred Otis Dickinson (September 1, 1965 - January 7, 1975)
• Gerald Lewis (January 7, 1975 - January 3, 1995)
• Robert Milligan (January 3, 1995 - January 7, 2003)

External links

• Office description and list of Comptrollers from the State Archives of Florida