List of Postmasters General
Dates prior to 1900 are the dates the Postmasters General were appointed or commissioned; dates after 1900 are the dates they took office. Appointments by the U.S. President were made with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Postmasters General appointed by the Continental Congress
| Postmaster General | Date Appointed |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Franklin | July 26, 1775 |
| Richard Bache | November 7, 1776 |
| Ebenezer Hazard | January 28, 1782 |
Postmasters General appointed by the President
| Postmaster General | Date Appointed | by President … |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Osgood | September 26, 1789 | George Washington |
| Timothy Pickering | August 12, 1791 | George Washington |
| Joseph Habersham | February 25, 1795 | George Washington |
| Gideon Granger | November 28, 1801 | Thomas Jefferson |
| Return J. Meigs, Jr. | March 17, 1814 | James Madison |
| John McLean | June 26, 1823 | James Monroe |
| William T. Barry | March 9, 1829 | Andrew Jackson |
| Amos Kendall | May 1, 1835 | Andrew Jackson |
| John M. Niles | May 19, 1840 | Martin Van Buren |
| Francis Granger | March 6, 1841 | William Henry Harrison |
| Charles A. Wickliffe | September 13, 1841 | John Tyler |
| Cave Johnson | March 6, 1845 | James K. Polk |
| Jacob Collamer | March 8, 1849 | Zachary Taylor |
| Nathan Kelsey Hall | July 23, 1850 | Millard Filmore |
| Samuel D. Hubbard | August 31, 1852 | Millard Filmore |
| James Campbell | March 7, 1853 | Franklin Pierce |
| Aaron V. Brown | March 6, 1857 | James Buchanan |
| Joseph Holt | March 14, 1859 | James Buchanan |
| Horatio King | February 12, 1861 | James Buchanan |
| Montgomery Blair | March 5, 1861 | Abraham Lincoln |
| William Dennison | September 24, 1864 | Abraham Lincoln |
| Alexander W. Randall | July 25, 1866 | Andrew Johnson |
| John A. J. Creswell | March 5, 1869 | Ulysses Grant |
| James W. Marshall | July 3, 1874 | Ulysses Grant |
| Marshall Jewell | August 24, 1874 | Ulysses Grant |
| James N. Tyner | July 12, 1876 | Ulysses Grant |
| David M. Key | March 12, 1877 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Horace Maynard | August 26, 1880 | Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Thomas L. James | March 5, 1881 | James A. Garfield |
| Timothy O. Howe | December 20, 1881 | Chester A. Arthur |
| Walter Q. Gresham | April 3, 1883 | Chester A. Arthur |
| Frank Hatton | October 14, 1884 | Chester A. Arthur |
| William F. Vilas | March 6, 1885 | Grover Cleveland |
| Don M. Dickinson | January 16, 1888 | Grover Cleveland |
| John Wanamaker | March 5, 1889 | Benjamin Harrison |
| Wilson S. Bissell | March 6, 1893 | Grover Cleveland |
| William L. Wilson | March 1, 1895 | Grover Cleveland |
| James A. Gary | March 5, 1897 | William McKinley |
| Charles Emory Smith | April 21, 1898 | William McKinley |
| Henry C. Payne | January 15, 1902 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Robert J. Wynne | October 10, 1904 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| George B. Cortelyou | March 7, 1905 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| George von L. Meyer | March 5, 1907 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Frank H. Hitchcock | March 6, 1909 | William H. Taft |
| Albert S. Burleson | March 5, 1913 | Woodrow Wilson |
| Will H. Hays | March 4, 1921 | Warren G. Harding |
| Hubert Work | March 4, 1922 | Warren G. Harding |
| Harry S. New | March 5, 1923 | Warren G. Harding |
| Walter F. Brown | March 6, 1929 | Herbert Hoover |
| James A. Farley | March 6, 1933 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Frank C. Walker | September 11, 1940 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Robert E. Hannegan | June 30, 1945 | Harry S. Truman |
| Jesse M. Donaldson | December 16, 1947 | Harry S. Truman |
| Arthur E. Summerfield | January 21, 1953 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| J. Edward Day | January 21, 1961 | John F. Kennedy |
| John A. Gronouski | September 30, 1963 | John F. Kennedy |
| Lawrence F. O'Brien | November 3, 1965 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| W. Marvin Watson | April 26, 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Winton M. Blount | January 22, 1969 | Richard M. Nixon |
Postmasters General appointed by the USPS Board of Governors
| Postmaster General | Date Took Office … |
|---|---|
| Winton M. Blount | July 1, 1971 |
| E. T. Klassen | January 1, 1972 |
| Benjamin F. Bailar | February 16, 1975 |
| William F. Bolger | March 15, 1978 |
| Paul N. Carlin | January 1, 1985 |
| Albert V. Casey | January 7, 1986 |
| Preston R. Tisch | August 16, 1986 |
| Anthony M. Frank | March 1, 1988 |
| Marvin T. Runyon | July 6, 1992 |
| William J. Henderson | May 16, 1998 |
| John E. Potter | June 1, 2001 |
| Patrick R. Donahoe | December 6, 2010 |
| Megan J. Brennan | February 1, 2015 |
| Louis DeJoy | June 15, 2020 |
HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
JUNE 2020