Here’s a question I saw on a Trivial Pursuit card once: What is the only state to ever have a king? The answer is Hawaii, which had its own native royal family before being annexed by the United States.  While this is technically true, I would argue that Maine has been ruled by several kings over the years.

The last real king to rule Maine was George III, of course. King George was born in 1738 and succeeded his grandfather to the British throne in 1760 because his father—George II— had already passed away. Though his 60 years on the throne made him the longest serving English king, he had a troubled reign. According to his bio on bbc.com, a poor choice of prime minister and the Seven Years War left the country with an empty treasury and an angry population. His rule over Maine and the rest of America ended in 1775 when the Revolutionary War started, or in 1783 when it ended, depending on your point of view. George III eventually went mad and spent the last decade of his life in a state of permanent derangement.

The next King to rule Maine was William King, the state’s first governor. King became a wealthy businessman even though his father died when he was a child and he received no inheritance.  King found work in a Topsham sawmill and saved his money until he could buy half a saw with a partner; soon he owned half a sawmill. He was involved in Topsham’s first toll bridge, the state’s first cotton mill and a bank. Eventually, he moved to Bath and became a wealthy landowner, shipbuilder and banker.

According to the New England Historical Society, as a state legislator, King spent seven years fighting for Maine’s statehood. This finally occurred in 1820 as part of the Missouri Compromise, which kept the balance of power between free states and slave states intact. King was overwhelmingly elected as Maine’s first governor, but he resigned after less than a year to seek a more lucrative federal job. He ran for governor again in 1835 and lost in a landslide. Despite this, King is revered for putting Maine on the map as a separate state.

Angus King, another wealthy businessman, was the next King to rule Maine. Angus King was born in Alexandria, Va., in 1944, and graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia Law School. His first leadership role was class president in high school, and his spirit of activism led him to join Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963. King moved to Maine and became a practicing attorney as well as the host of the “Maine Watch” television show. He got involved in the alternative energy business and eventually sold his company for an $8 million profit. Using some of this money, he ran for governor—as an independent—and was elected in 1994. Today, King serves as Maine’s junior U.S. senator.

Given his recent political activism on Twitter, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stephen King runs for governor one of these days. I’m sure he’d probably win.

Zac McDorr can be reached at zacmcdorr@gmail.com.