October 2, 1781

Alabama’s first governor, William Wyatt Bibb, was born Oct. 2, 1781, in Virginia. Bibb served as governor of Alabama Territory from 1817 to 1819 and the state of Alabama from 1819 to his death July 10, 1820. Bibb was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, but his family moved to Georgia to grow tobacco. Bibb earned a degree in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to Georgia to practice. He was elected to the Georgia State Legislature at age 21 before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. James Madison appointed him governor of the Alabama Territory after he lost re-election. Bibb moved with his family to the frontier capital of St. Stephens in Washington County. He contracted tuberculosis in 1819 and was seriously injured in a horse fall in 1820. He died July 10 at the age of 38 and was succeeded as governor by his brother Thomas, who was president of the Alabama Senate.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Marker providing information about William Wyatt Bibb and the location of his gravesite. (Alabama Historical Markers, OHail, Thorny 1, waymarking.com)

William Wyatt Bibb (1781-1820) was a U.S. senator and member of the “Broad River Group,” wealthy Georgians who settled in what would become Alabama around the turn of the 19th century. Bibb was governor of the Alabama Territory and retained the governorship when Alabama became a state in 1819. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Thomas Bibb (ca. 1783-1838) was Alabama’s governor from 1820-21, taking office when his brother, William Wyatt Bibb, died mid-term. While influential in financial and political sectors, he struggled with reapportionment and a faltering economy during his governorship. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Gravesite of William Wyatt Bibb, Coosada, 2010. (Chris Pruitt, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.