The following is a list of governors of the Panama Canal Zone while it was under U.S. control.
| Image | Name | Took office | Left office | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | George Whitefield Davis | 14 May 1904 | 24 May 1905 | ||
 | Charles Edward Magoon | 25 May 1905 | 12 October 1906 | ||
 | Richard Reid Rogers | 19 November 1906 | 31 March 1907 | General Counsel of the Isthmian Canal Commission | |
 | Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn | 1 April 1907 | 4 December 1909 | ||
 | Maurice Thatcher | 13 May 1910 | 8 August 1913 | ||
 | Richard Lee Metcalfe | 9 August 1913 | 31 March 1914 |
| Image | Name | born and death | Took office | Left office | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | George Washington Goethals | June 29, 1858-January 21, 1928 (aged 69) | 1 April 1914 | 10 January 1917 | First U.S. civil governor appointed by President Woodrow Wilson | [1] |
 | Chester Harding | December 31, 1866-November 11, 1936 (aged 69) | 11 January 1917 | 27 March 1921 | [1] | |
 | Jay Johnson Morrow | February 20, 1870-April 16, 1937 (aged 67) | 28 March 1921 | 15 October 1924 | [1] |
| Image | Name | Took office | Left office | Notes | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Meriwether Lewis Walker | 16 October 1924 | 15 October 1928 | [1] | |
 | Harry Burgess | 16 October 1928 | 20 October 1932 | [1] | |
 | Julian Larcombe Schley | 21 October 1932 | 26 August 1936 | [1] | |
| Clarence S. Ridley | 27 August 1936 | 10 July 1940 | [1] | ||
 | Glen Edgar Edgerton | 11 July 1940 | 15 May 1944 | [1] | |
 | Joseph Cowles Mehaffey | 16 May 1944 | 19 May 1948 | [1] | |
| Francis K. Newcomer | 20 May 1948 | 26 May 1952 | [1] | ||
| John States Seybold | 27 May 1952 | 27 May 1956 | [1] | ||
| William Everett Potter | 28 May 1956 | 30 June 1960 | [1] | ||
| William Arnold Carter | 1 July 1960 | 31 January 1962 | [1] | ||
| Robert John Fleming | 1 February 1962 | 31 January 1967 | [1] | ||
| Walter Philip Leber | 21 February 1967 | 2 March 1971 | [1] | ||
| David Stuart Parker | 3 March 1971 | 25 March 1975 | [1] | ||
 | Harold Parfitt | 26 March 1975 | 30 September 1979 | [1] |
The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan and the even less popular route through the Arctic Archipelago and the Bering Strait.
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, which established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal. It was named after its two primary negotiators, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, the French diplomatic representative of Panama, and United States Secretary of State John Hay.
The Panama Canal Zone, also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in Isthmus of Panama in Central America, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the territory of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón. Its capital was Balboa. Panama Canal Zone was created on November 18, 1903 from the territory of Panama. It was established with the signing of the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty, which allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal within the territory by the United States. It existed until October 1, 1979 when it was incorporated back into Panama.
Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal.
Charles Edward Magoon was an American lawyer, judge, diplomat, and administrator who is best remembered as a governor of the Panama Canal Zone; he also served as Minister to Panama at the same time. His successes led to his appointment as an occupation governor of Cuba in 1906. He was the subject of several scandals during his career. As a legal advisor working for the United States Department of War, he drafted recommendations and reports that were used by Congress and the executive branch in governing the United States' new territories following the Spanish–American War. These reports were collected as a published book in 1902, then considered the seminal work on the subject. During his time as a governor, Magoon worked to put these recommendations into practice. In summary: Magoon was hugely successful in Panama but criticized for his tenure in Cuba.
Chester Harding was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1917 to 1921.
Meriwether Lewis Walker was an officer in the United States Army with the rank of Brigadier General, who served as a Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1924 to 1928.
Harry Burgess was governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1928 to 1932.
Clarence Self Ridley served as the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1936 to 1940.
Glen Edgar Edgerton was a United States Army officer, who served as the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1940 to 1944.
Francis Kosier Newcomer was a decorated officer of the United States Army with the rank of Brigadier general. He is most noted for his service as a Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1948 to 1952.
William Everett Potter was an American engineer and military officer who served as Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1956 to 1960. He was also involved in the logistics of the 1964 New York World's Fair and of Walt Disney World.
David Stuart Parker served as the Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1971 to 1975.
Major General Harold Robert Parfitt, was the last Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, from 1975 to 1979.
Martyrs' Day is a Panamanian day of national mourning which commemorates the January 9, 1964 anti-American riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. The riot started after a Panamanian flag was torn and students were killed during a conflict with Canal Zone Police officers and Canal Zone residents. It is also known as the Flag Incident or Flag Protests.
Postage stamps and postal history of the Canal Zone is a subject that covers the postal system, postage stamps used and mail sent to and from the Panama Canal Zone from 1904 up until October 1978, after the United States relinquished its authority of the Zone in compliance with the treaty it reached with Panama.
Gamboa is a small town in the Republic of Panama. It was one of a handful of permanent Canal Zone townships, built to house employees of the Panama Canal and their dependents. The name Gamboa is the name of a tree of the quince family.
The United States Air Forces Southern Command is an inactive Major Command of the United States Air Force. It was headquartered at Albrook Air Force Base, Canal Zone, being inactivated on 1 January 1976.
The separation of Panama from Colombia was formalized on 3 November 1903, with the establishment of the Republic of Panama. From the Independence of Panama from Spain in 1821, Panama had simultaneously declared independence from Spain and joined itself to the confederation of Gran Colombia through the Independence Act of Panama. Panama was always tenuously connected to the rest of the country to the south, owing to its remoteness from the government in Bogotá and lack of a practical overland connection to the rest of Gran Colombia. In 1840–41, a short-lived independent republic was established under Tomás de Herrera. After rejoining Colombia following a 13-month independence, it remained a province which saw frequent rebellious flare-ups, notably the Panama crisis of 1885, which saw the intervention of the United States Navy, and a reaction by the Chilean Navy.
John Geronald Claybourn was a civil engineer and Dredging Division Superintendent of the Isthmian Canal Commission. He was the original designer of Gamboa, Panama. During his career on the Panama Canal and after his retirement, Claybourn was involved as a consultant in river and harbor improvement projects in several countries, primarily in Latin America.