Who was the first governor of the eighth least populous U.S. state?
Nicholas Cooke: Nicholas Cooke (February 3, 1717September 14, 1782) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Rhode Island:  It is the smallest in area, the eighth least populous, and the second most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
Nicholas Cooke