John Ezra Rickards, Montana’s first Lieutenant Governor and second Governor, was born July 23, 1848 in Delaware City, Delaware. At the age of 19, Rickards became a clerk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1870 he went to Pueblo, Colorado, where he remained employed as a clerk and bookkeeper until 1873. He then went to San Francisco, California and worked as a city salesman in the mercantile business for four years. In September, 1882, Rickards came to Montana and became engaged in the insurance and real estate business in Butte.

Rickard’s first political service was as a councilman, as members of the upper house of the territorial legislature were called. He served as a representative of Silver Bow County from 1887 to 1889. After serving as a member of the constitutional convention of 1889, he was elected lieutenant-governor by the Republicans at the same time that Joseph K. Toole (Democrat) was chosen as Montana's first governor.