Romualdo Pacheco

José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco was a Californio statesman and diplomat. He is best known as the only Hispanic person to serve as governor of California since the American Conquest of California, and as the first Latino to represent a state in the U.S. Congress. A Republican, Pacheco was elected and appointed to various state, federal, and diplomatic offices throughout his more than thirty-year career, including serving as a California State Treasurer, California State Senator, and three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected California Lieutenant Governor in 1871, then became governor when elected governor Newton Booth ran successfully for election to the U.S. Senate in 1875. Pacheco served the remainder of Booth's term as governor, becoming the 12th governor of California, but did not run for election to that office. Pacheco was the first U.S. governor of California to be born in California.