United States Postmaster General

The United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress as the first Postmaster General, serving slightly longer than 15 months.

In 1971, the United States Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch. Thus, the Postmaster General is no longer a member of the Cabinet and is no longer in line to be President.

Postmasters General under the Continental Congress[change | change source]

Name	Date appointed
Benjamin Franklin	July 26, 1775
Richard Bache	November 7, 1776
Ebenezer Hazard	January 28, 1782

Samuel Osgood was the first Postmaster General under the U.S. Constitution.

Postmasters General under the U.S. Constitution, 1789–1971[change | change source]

Name	State of Residence	Date appointed	President(s) served under
Samuel Osgood	New York	September 26, 1789	Washington
Timothy Pickering	Massachusetts	August 12, 1791	Washington
Joseph Habersham	Georgia	February 25, 1795	Washington, Adams, Jefferson
Gideon Granger	Connecticut	November 28, 1801	Jefferson, Madison
Return J. Meigs, Jr.	Ohio	March 17, 1814	Madison, Monroe
John McLean	Ohio	June 26, 1823	Monroe, J. Q. Adams

Cabinet-level Postmasters General[change | change source]

Name	State of Residence	Date appointed	President(s) served under
William T. Barry	Kentucky	March 9, 1829	Jackson
Amos Kendall	Massachusetts	May 1, 1835	Jackson, Van Buren
John M. Niles	Connecticut	May 19, 1840	Van Buren
Francis Granger	New York	March 6, 1841	W. H. Harrison, Tyler
Charles A. Wickliffe	Kentucky	September 13, 1841	Tyler
Cave Johnson	Tennessee	March 6, 1845	Polk
Jacob Collamer	Vermont	March 8, 1849	Taylor
Nathan K. Hall	New York	July 23, 1850	Fillmore
Samuel D. Hubbard	Connecticut	August 31, 1852	Fillmore
James Campbell	Pennsylvania	March 7, 1853	Pierce
Aaron V. Brown	Tennessee	March 6, 1857	Buchanan
Joseph Holt	Kentucky	March 14, 1859	Buchanan
Horatio King	Maine	February 12, 1861	Buchanan
Montgomery Blair	Maryland	March 5, 1861	Lincoln
William Dennison	Ohio	September 24, 1864	Lincoln, A. Johnson
Alexander W. Randall	Wisconsin	July 25, 1866	A. Johnson
John A. J. Creswell	Maryland	March 5, 1869	Grant
James W. Marshall	Pennsylvania	July 3, 1874	Grant
Marshall Jewell	Connecticut	August 24, 1874	Grant
James N. Tyner	Indiana	July 12, 1876	Grant
David M. Key	Tennessee	March 12, 1877	Hayes
Horace Maynard	Tennessee	June 2, 1880	Hayes
Thomas L. James	New York	March 5, 1881	Garfield, Arthur
Timothy O. Howe	Wisconsin	December 20, 1881	Arthur
Walter Q. Gresham	Indiana	April 3, 1883	Arthur
Frank Hatton	Iowa	October 14, 1884	Arthur
William F. Vilas	Wisconsin	March 6, 1885	Cleveland
Donald M. Dickinson	Michigan	January 6, 1888	Cleveland
John Wanamaker	Pennsylvania	March 5, 1889	B. Harrison
Wilson S. Bissell	New York	March 6, 1893	Cleveland
William L. Wilson	West Virginia	March 1, 1895	Cleveland
James A. Gary	Maryland	March 5, 1897	McKinley
Charles Emory Smith	Pennsylvania	April 21, 1898	McKinley, T. Roosevelt
Henry C. Payne	Wisconsin	January 9, 1902	T. Roosevelt
Robert J. Wynne	Washington, D.C.	October 10, 1904	T. Roosevelt
George B. Cortelyou	New York	March 6, 1905	T. Roosevelt
George von L. Meyer	Massachusetts	January 15, 1907	T. Roosevelt
Frank H. Hitchcock	Ohio	March 5, 1909	Taft
Albert S. Burleson	Texas	March 5, 1913	Wilson
Will H. Hays	Indiana	March 5, 1921	Harding
Hubert Work	Colorado	March 4, 1922	Harding
Harry S. New	Indiana	February 27, 1923	Harding, Coolidge
Walter F. Brown	Ohio	March 5, 1929	Hoover
James A. Farley	New York	March 4, 1933	F. Roosevelt
Frank C. Walker	Montana	September 10, 1940	F. Roosevelt, Truman
Robert E. Hannegan	Missouri	May 8, 1945	Truman
Jesse Monroe Donaldson	Illinois	December 16, 1947	Truman
Arthur E. Summerfield	Michigan	January 21, 1953	Eisenhower
J. Edward Day	Illinois	January 21, 1961	Kennedy
John A. Gronouski	Wisconsin	September 30, 1963	Kennedy, L. Johnson
Lawrence F. O'Brien	Massachusetts	November 3, 1965	L. Johnson
W. Marvin Watson	Texas	April 26, 1968	L. Johnson
Winton M. Blount	Alabama	January 22, 1969	Nixon

Postmasters general of the U.S. Postal Service, 1971–present[change | change source]

	Name	Date appointed^[1]	President(s) served under
62	Winton M. Blount	July 1, 1971	Nixon
63	E. T. Klassen	January 1, 1972	Nixon, Ford
64	Benjamin F. Bailar	February 16, 1975	Ford, Carter
65	William F. Bolger	March 15, 1978	Carter, Reagan
66	Paul N. Carlin	January 1, 1985	Reagan
67	Albert Vincent Casey	January 7, 1986
68	Preston Robert Tisch	August 16, 1986
69	Anthony M. Frank	March 1, 1988	Reagan, H.W. Bush
70	Marvin Travis Runyon	July 6, 1992	H.W. Bush, Clinton
71	William J. Henderson	May 16, 1998	Clinton, Bush
72	John E. Potter	June 1, 2001	Bush, Obama
73	Patrick R. Donahoe	January 14, 2011	Obama
74	Megan Brennan	February 1, 2015	Obama, Trump
75	Louis DeJoy	June 15, 2020	Trump, Biden

References[change | change source]

↑ Since July 1, 1971, the Postmaster General has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.

[1] Since July 1, 1971, the Postmaster General has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.

[1]