History of Attorneys General

Nevada Attorney General List - Sequential Order by Term

George A. Nourse - Republican, Elected

George A. Nourse - Republican, Elected

January 4, 1865 - January 7, 1867
George Augusta Nourse, born on December 19, 1824, grew up in Hollowell, Kennebec County, Maine.  During his time as a student at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, health issues forced him to leave, and so he went to Aroostook County in Maine and established a farm.
Robert M. Clarke - Republican, Elected

Robert M. Clarke - Republican, Elected

January 7, 1867 - January 2, 1871

Robert M. Clarke, born June 26, 1837, lived his early years in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio.

After Congress admitted Nevada to the Union on October 31, 1864, and upon the organization of the state government, President Lincoln appointed Robert M. Clarke United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Luther A. Buckner - Democrat, Elected

Luther A. Buckner - Democrat, Elected

January 2, 1871 - January 4, 1875
Luther A. Buckner, born in 1848 to a prominent Kentucky family, came to California in 1854.  He later moved to Humboldt County, Nevada, in 1862, and gained admittance to the Nevada State Bar on January 9, 1871.
John R. Kittrell - Democrat, Elected

John R. Kittrell - Democrat, Elected

January 4, 1875 - January 6, 1879
John R. Kittrell was born in North Carolina in 1829.  Although details of his early life and education are uncertain, he apparently remained in North Carolina long enough to be acculturated to the values of “his old south”.
Michael A. Murphy - Republican, Elected

Michael A. Murphy - Republican, Elected

January 6, 1879 - January 1, 1883
Shortly after his birth in New York State in 1837, Michael A. Murphy’s family moved to McHenry County, Illinois.  At age 16, Murphy ventured to California to search for gold and at age 26, he moved to Aurora, Nevada (then in Esmeralda County; present day in Mineral County), to become a miner.
William H. Davenport - Republican, Elected

William H. Davenport - Republican, Elected

January 1, 1883 - January 3, 1887
William H. Davenport, born in Delaware in 1831, came west when Nevada still was a territory.  In 1862, he represented Storey County in the Nevada Territorial House of Representatives, and in 1864, he served as the Police Recorder and Justice of the Peace for Virginia City.
John F. Alexander - Republican, Elected

John F. Alexander - Republican, Elected

January 3, 1887 - January 5, 1891
John K. Alexander, born in 1853 in Iowa, moved to Nevada with his family 1859 and settled in Virginia City. In 1875, he graduated from the California State University of Agriculture but did not go into farming. On April 4, 1881 , after his admittance to the Nevada State Bar, Alexander entered law practice with W.M. Boardman, a then-distinguished attorney and Washoe County District Attorney in Reno, Nevada.
James D. Torryson - Republican, Elected

James D. Torryson - Republican, Elected

January 5, 1891 - January 7, 1895
James Duncan Torreyson, born February 14, 1854, in Wellsburg, West Virginia, moved to Carson City, Nevada, with his family in 1863. At 20 years of age, he returned east to study at Yale University and graduated in 1879.
Robert M. Beatty - Silver Party*, Elected

Robert M. Beatty - Silver Party*, Elected

January 7, 1895 - December 10, 1896
Robert M. Beatty, born on March 4, 1850, at Mount Morris, Ogle County, Illinois, moved with his family to California in 1852. In 1868, he came to Nevada, studied law in Virginia City, and gained admittance to the Nevada State Bar in White Pine County (Nevada) on July 19, 1871.
James R. Judge - Silver Party*, Appointed

James R. Judge - Silver Party*, Appointed

December 21, 1896 - January 2, 1899
James R. Judge, born in Altoona, Huntington County, Pennsylvania, on September 9, 1850, received an education in engineering at St. Francis College Brooklyn Heights, New York. He came to Nevada in 1877 to work for a survey party with the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.
William D. Jones - Silver Party*, Elected

William D. Jones - Silver Party*, Elected

January 2, 1899 - January 15, 1901

Early information about the life of William Dudley Jones comes from the History of the Bench and Bar of Nevada, Biographies:

Son of Alfred M. and Mary R. Jones. Moved to Austin, Nevada, 1868. Married January 3, 1876, to La Forga F. Birchim. Educated in the public schools for a short period before the Civil War. Admitted to the bar of Nevada 1892.

William Woodburn - Silver Party*, Appointed

William Woodburn - Silver Party*, Appointed

January 15, 1901 to January 5, 1903
William Woodburn, born in County Wicklow, Ireland, on April 14, 1838, immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1849. He attended St. Charles College, Maryland; studied law; and gained admitted to the Nevada State Bar on January 4, 1866. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Woodburn commenced the practice of law in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada.
James G. Sweeney - Silver Party*, Elected

James G. Sweeney - Silver Party*, Elected

January 5, 1903 - January 7, 1907
 James G. Sweeney, born in Carson City, Nevada, on January 24, 1877, and educated in the public schools of Carson City, graduated from St. Mary's College, Oakland, California, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He returned to Carson City; studied law; and at the age of 21, gained admittance to the Nevada State Bar on July 30, 1898. He entered Columbia Law University at Washington, D. C., and graduated with high honors.
Richard C. Stoddard - Silver Party*, Elected

Richard C. Stoddard - Silver Party*, Elected

January 7, 1907 - January 2, 1911

Richard Cross Stoddard, born on September 3, 1876, in Reno, Nevada, received his education at the public schools of Reno and Nevada State University (now University of Nevada, Reno).

After studying law at the office of Louis Lamy in San Luis Obispo, California, Stoddard gained admittance to the Nevada State Bar and the California State Bar in 1903. He practiced law for a short period in San Luis Obispo, and then moved to Reno, where he served as Reno City Attorney from 1905 to 1906.

Cleveland H. Baker - Democrat, Elected

Cleveland H. Baker - Democrat, Elected

January 2, 1911 - December 5, 1912
Cleveland Hall Baker, born in Eureka, Nevada, on June 26, 1883, was the son of early Nevada pioneers G.W. and Mary A. Baker. Baker graduated from the public schools of Oakland, California; Belmont Academy, Belmont, CA; and Leland Stanford Jr. University with an A. M. (artium magister) degree (known today as a Master of Arts degree). 
George B. Thatcher - Democrat, Appointed

George B. Thatcher - Democrat, Appointed

December 6, 1912 - January 6, 1919
George Bayard Thatcher, the son of George W. Thatcher and Mary E. (Madigan) Thatcher, was born on July 28, 1882, in Denver, Colorado.  After graduating from the University of Colorado law school in 1904, Thatcher moved to Tonopah, Nevada, where he opened a law practice.
Leonard B. Fowler - Democrat, Elected

Leonard B. Fowler - Democrat, Elected

January 6, 1919 - January 1, 1923
Leonard Burke Fowler, born October 20, 1877, in Visalia, California, was the son of Thomas and Mary E. (Farley) Fowler.  Educated in the public schools in California from 1894-1897, Fowler graduated from St. Joseph's College, San Jose, California.
Michael A. Diskin - Democrat, Elected

Michael A. Diskin - Democrat, Elected

January 1, 1923 - January 5, 1931
Michael Angelo ‘Jack’ Diskin, the son of Thomas and Mary (Halleron) Diskin, was born on January 10, 1884, in Scottdale, Pennsylvania. Diskin graduated from Scottdale High School in June 1900 and attend Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana. In 1907, Diskin graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B), and the Indiana State Bar admitted him as a member of the Bar.
Gray Mashburn - Democrat, Elected

Gray Mashburn - Democrat, Elected

January 5, 1931 - January 4, 1943
Arthur Gray Mashburn, one of sixteen children—five sons and eleven daughters—was born in Kenyon, Arkansas, December 13, 1872, to John A. and Elizabeth (Field) Mashburn.1 When Mashburn was six years old, the family moved to Philadelphia, a little town in northern Arkansas.
Alan H. Bible - Democrat, Elected

Alan H. Bible - Democrat, Elected

January 4, 1943 - January 1, 1951

Alan Bible, son of Jacob (“Jake”) Harvey and Isabel Welsh Bible, was born on November 20, 1909, in Lovelock, Humboldt (now Pershing) County, Nevada.  He attended school in Lovelock in a two-room schoolhouse, but in 1919, after a fire destroyed the Bibles’ home and everything they had, the family moved to Fallon.

William T. Mathews - Democrat, Elected

William T. Mathews - Democrat, Elected

January 1, 1951 - January 3, 1955
William Thomas Mathews, son of William G. and Susie Y. Middleton Mathews, was born on November 24, 1885, in La Veta, Colorado.  Mathews attended Colorado Agriculture College, and in July 1910, he moved to Elko, Nevada, where he took a job as a locomotive engineer for the Western Pacific Railroad.  On June 17, 1912, Mathews married Veta Emelia Mikkelsen, in Farmington, New Mexico, and on April 2, 1917, their only child, Woodrow George Mathews, was born in Elko.
Harvey Dickerson - Democrat, Elected

Harvey Dickerson - Democrat, Elected

January 3, 1955 - January 8, 1959
Harvey Denver Dickerson, born on June 3, 1905 in Ely, Nevada, was the first of eight children born to Denver S. Dickerson and Una Reilly, a local teacher in Cherry Creek, Nevada. At the age of 36, Harvey’s father, a member of the Silver-Democrat Party, served as Acting Governor of Nevada from 1908-1911.
Roger D. Foley - Democrat, Elected

Roger D. Foley - Democrat, Elected

January 5, 1959 - July 15, 1962
Roger Drummond Foley, born on April 28, 1917, in Goldfield, Nevada, was the eldest of five sons of Federal District Court Judge Roger Thomas Foley and Helen Drummond Foley.  A fire in 1922 destroyed 37 blocks of the town and most of Goldfield’s businesses.  With the loss of economic opportunity, the Foleys moved to Las Vegas in 1928.
Charles E. Springer - Democrat, Appointed

Charles E. Springer - Democrat, Appointed

July 15, 1962 - January 7, 1963
Attorney General Charles Edward Springer served the shortest term of any of Nevada’s Attorneys General included in this publication, slightly more than six months in office. His predecessor, Roger D. Foley resigned as Nevada Attorney General after being appointed to the federal district court bench. In 1962, Governor Grant Sawyer appointed Springer as Attorney General.
Harvey Dickerson - Democrat, Elected

Harvey Dickerson - Democrat, Elected

January 7, 1963 - January 4, 1971
Harvey Denver Dickerson, born on June 3, 1905 in Ely, Nevada, was the first of eight children born to Denver S. Dickerson and Una Reilly, a local teacher in Cherry Creek, Nevada. At the age of 36, Harvey’s father, a member of the Silver-Democrat Party, served as Acting Governor of Nevada from 1908-1911.
Robert List - Republican, Elected

Robert List - Republican, Elected

January 4, 1971 - January 1, 1979
Robert Frank “Bob” List, was born September 1, 1936, in Visalia, California, to Frank and Alice List.  List grew up in Exeter (in the San Joaquin Valley), California, with his brother Alan and sister Bonnie.  List’s father worked as a farmer, rancher, and private pilot, and his mother worked as a bookkeeper, homemaker, painter, gardener, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.
Richard H. Bryan - Democrat, Elected

Richard H. Bryan - Democrat, Elected

January 1, 1979 - January 3, 1983
The Nevada Attorney General's Office extends a very special thank you to Senator Richard Bryan for providing first-hand details about his life.
Brian McKay - Republican, Elected

Brian McKay - Republican, Elected

January 3, 1983 - January 7, 1991
Brian McKay, the oldest of three boys, was born in Billings, Montana, in 1945. After graduating from high school, McKay enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and served from 1966- 1969 in North Carolina and South Korea. In 1967, he married Karen Leslie in New York State. After the service, he signed up for college and graduated from Colgate University with a B. A. degree in 1971.
Frankie Sue Del Papa - Democrat, Elected

Frankie Sue Del Papa - Democrat, Elected

January 7, 1991 - January 6, 2003
Frankie Sue Del Papa, born in 1949 in Hawthorne, Nevada, grew up in Tonopah, Nevada. She attended junior high and high school in Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno (“UNR”). In 1971, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Del Papa not only excelled in school, she also honed, and excelled in, her leadership skills while serving as the first female ASUN (“Associated Students of the University of Nevada”) student body president at UNR.
Brian Sandoval - Republican, Elected

Brian Sandoval - Republican, Elected

January 6, 2003 - October 25, 2005
Brian Sandoval, the son of Ron Sandoval (an FAA maintenance supervisor) and Gloria Gallegos (a legal secretary), was born in Redding, California, on August 5, 1963. A long-time resident of Reno, Sandoval graduated from Bishop Manogue High School in 1981 and from the University of Nevada at Reno in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Economics. In 1984, Sandoval served on the Congressional staff of Senator Paul Laxalt and served as an extern to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1989. In 1989, Sandoval earned his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and passed the bar exam in Nevada, California and the District of Columbia.
George J. Chanos - Republican, Appointed

George J. Chanos - Republican, Appointed

October 26, 2005 - January 1, 2007
George James Chanos, born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, on August 3, 1958, spent his childhood between Wisconsin and Las Vegas. Chanos, a member of the high school debate team, graduated from Valley High School in Las Vegas.
Catherine Cortez Masto - Democrat, Elected

Catherine Cortez Masto - Democrat, Elected

January 1, 2007 - January 5, 2015
Catherine Cortez Masto, the daughter of Joanna and Manuel “Manny” Cortez, was born March 29, 1964, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her mother was of Italian descent, and her father’s parents were Mexican immigrants. Her father, who died in 2006, attended Nevada Southern University as a pre-law student and worked nights as a parking attendant. In 1991, he became the chairman of the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Adam Paul Laxalt - Republican, Elected

Adam Paul Laxalt - Republican, Elected

January 5, 2015 - January 7, 2019
Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt, elected as Nevada's 33rd Attorney General, took office on January 5, 2015, at the time making him the youngest Attorney General in the country.  A former Lieutenant in the United States Navy, the US Navy trained him as a prosecutor and legal advisor.  While serving in Iraq, Laxalt assisted with the detention and prosecution of thousands of war criminals and terrorists.
Aaron Ford - Democrat - Elected

Aaron Ford - Democrat - Elected

January 7, 2019 - Present
Before his election, AG Ford served as the Majority Leader of the Nevada State Senate. He previously served as the Minority Leader, Assistant Majority Whip, chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Education, and member of the Judiciary Committee. Before beginning his legal career, AG Ford served as a public school math teacher, shaping hundreds of lives. He later attended law school and went on to clerk for the Honorable Denise Page Hood of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, as well as the Honorable Johnnie B. Rawlinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He spent many years in private practice, including as a Partner at Snell & Wilmer LLP and later as Partner at Eglet Prince, both in Las Vegas.
The Original Nevada Supreme Court Building

The Original Nevada Supreme Court Building

The original Nevada Supreme Court building was dedicated in 1937. Construction began before that time. The photo is marked circa 1940, however, the NSC building is not shown in this photo. Photo courtesy of former Deputy Attorney General, Jonathan Andrews.