The Once and Future Speaker

Since 1788, there have been 62 Speakers of the United States House of Representatives.  Some few of those, especially the earliest, had no affiliation to a political party.  Another few were members, not of the party that controlled Congress, but rather of the minority. A handful had multiple terms as Speaker - for instance, Henry Clay in the 19th Century, and John Boehner in the early 21st.    Until 2007, however, one characteristic of Speakers remained universal - they were all males.

On Thursday, two days from this posting, a new Speaker will be sworn in who will (again) challenge two of the paradigms just cited.  Nancy Pelosi will, for the second time, become Speaker, approaching John Boehner's number of Congresses served.  At the same time, Pelosi will continue to be the only female Speaker (so far) in United States history.