Ansel Briggs (February 3, 1806 in Shoreham, Vermont – May 5, 1881 in Omaha, Nebraska) was the first Governor of Iowa, from 1846 to 1850. Briggs was a business entrepreneur, sheriff and a member of the Iowa Territorial House of Representatives before being Governor. While Governor of Iowa he oversaw the formation of the government bodies of Iowa, the state's school system, and diplomatically avoided an armed border dispute with the state of Missouri.