That experience is the parent of wisdom, is an adage the truth of which is recognized by the wisest as well as the simplest of mankind.
Our Governor today is a very powerful executive. But it hasnât always been that way. The first Governor under the constitution was the great patriot, Patrick Henry. The Virginia Convention elected him Governor on June 29, 1776, the same day it proclaimed the new constitution. He had virtually no power, nor did Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the other early governors.
First administration as governor. Berkeley replaced Sir Francis Wyatt as governor of Virginia in 1641. He was governor of the colony of Virginia from 1641â1652 and 1660â1677. Berkeleyâs main initiative when he first became governor was to encourage diversification of Virginiaâs agricultural products.