be elected to office. Evan Bayh, at age thirty-four, is the only other governor under the age of forty to be elected. James D. Williams, at age sixty-nine, was the oldest governor to be elected and died in office at age seventy-two. The average age of governors at the time of their election is fifty. Thirty-two of Indiana's governors have served in the military. Veteran organizations have served as a gateway for the governorship. Ira J. Chase served as leader of the Grand Army of the Republic. Paul V. McNutt, Ralph F. Gates, and George N. Craig were leaders of the American Legion, whose national headquarters is in Indianapolis. Thirty governors have been lawyers by profession, and three have been farmers. Thirty received a college education, with eleven of them having attended Indiana University. Several governors have gone on to higher office, with nine serving in the United States Senate, and three serving as Vice President of the United States. Gubernatorial elections Under the original constitution of 1816, the state held gubernatorial elections every three years. The first election was held before statehood was approved, in August 1816. Until the constitution was replaced in 1851, elections were held in October, and winners took office in December. In 1851, Indiana adopted its second and current constitution, which banned governors from serving consecutive terms and lengthened terms to four years. Elections since then have been held on Election Day in November during years divisible by four, concurrent with presidential elections. In 1972, the constitution was amended to allow governors to immediately succeed themselves. As mentioned above, the amendment limited a governor to a total of eight years in office during a 12-year period, effectively limiting him to two consecutive terms. References Specific Bibliography External links The Office of the Governor of Indiana 1816 establishments in Indiana