United States Postmaster General

The Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. He was from 1872 to 1971 the head of an executive department concerned with the postal service (the Post Office Department). During that period, he was a member of the President's Cabinet. The Cabinet office of Postmaster General was often given to a new President's campaign manager or other key political supporter, and was considered something of a sinecure.

Postmasters General

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Name	Year appointed	President(s) served under
Benjamin Franklin	July 26, 1775	(Continental Congress)
Richard Bache	November 7, 1776	(Continental Congress)
Ebenezer Hazard	January 28, 1782	(Continental Congress)
Samuel Osgood	September 26, 1789	Washington
Timothy Pickering	August 12, 1791	Washington
Joseph Habersham	February 25, 1795	Washington, Adams, Jefferson
Gideon Granger	November 28, 1801	Jefferson, Madison
Return J. Meigs, Jr	March 17, 1814	Madison, Monroe
John McLean	June 26, 1823	Monroe, J. Q. Adams
William T. Barry	March 9, 1829	Jackson
Amos Kendall	May 1, 1835	Jackson, Van Buren
John M. Niles	May 19, 1840	Van Buren
Francis Granger	March 6, 1841	W. H. Harrison, Tyler
Charles A. Wickliffe	September 13, 1841	Tyler
Cave Johnson	March 6, 1845	Polk
Jacob Collamer	March 8, 1849	Taylor
Nathan K. Hall	July 23, 1850	Fillmore
Samuel D. Hubbard	August 31, 1852	Fillmore
James Campbell	March 7, 1853	Pierce
Aaron V. Brown	March 6, 1857	Buchanan
Joseph Holt	March 14, 1859	Buchanan
Horatio King	February 12, 1861	Buchanan
Montgomery Blair	March 5, 1861	Lincoln
William Dennison	September 24, 1864	Lincoln, A. Johnson
Alexander W. Randall	July 25, 1866	A. Johnson
John A. J. Creswell	March 5, 1869	Grant
James W. Marshall	July 3, 1874	Grant
Marshall Jewell	August 24, 1874	Grant
James N. Tyner	July 12, 1876	Grant
David M. Key	March 12, 1877	Hayes
Thomas L. James	March 5, 1881	Garfield, Arthur
Timothy O. Howe	December 20, 1881	Arthur
Walter Q. Gresham	April 3, 1883	Arthur
Frank Hatton	October 14, 1884	Arthur
William F. Vilas	March 6, 1885	Cleveland
Don M. Dickinson	January 6, 1888	Cleveland
John Wanamaker	March 5, 1889	B. Harrison
Wilson S. Bissell	March 6, 1893	Cleveland
William L. Wilson	March 1, 1895	Cleveland
James A. Gary	March 5, 1897	McKinley
Charles Emory Smith	April 21, 1898	McKinley, T. Roosevelt
Henry C. Payne	January 9, 1902	T. Roosevelt
Robert J. Wynne	October 10, 1904	T. Roosevelt
George B. Cortelyou	March 6, 1905	T. Roosevelt
George von L. Meyer	January 15, 1907	T. Roosevelt
Frank H. Hitchcock	March 5, 1909	Taft
Albert S. Burleson	March 5, 1913	Wilson
Will H. Hays	March 5, 1921	Harding
Hubert Work	March 4, 1922	Harding
Harry S. New	February 27, 1923	Harding, Coolidge
Walter F. Brown	March 5, 1929	Hoover
James A. Farley	March 4, 1933	F. Roosevelt
Frank C. Walker	September 10, 1940	F. Roosevelt, Truman
Robert E. Hannegan	May 8, 1945	Truman
Jesse M. Donaldson	December 16, 1947	Truman
Arthur E. Summerfield	January 21, 1953	Eisenhower
J. Edward Day	January 21, 1961	Kennedy
John A. Gronouski	September 30, 1963	Kennedy, L. Johnson
Lawrence F. O'Brien	November 3, 1965	L. Johnson
W. Marvin Watson	April 26, 1968	L. Johnson
Winton M. Blount	January 22, 1969	Nixon[1](July 1, 1971)
E. T. Klassen	January 1, 1972	[1]
Benjamin F. Bailar	February 16, 1975	[1]
William F. Bolger	March 15, 1978	[1]
Paul N. Carlin	January 1, 1985	[1]
Albert V. Casey	January 7, 1986	[1]
Preston R. Tisch	August 16, 1986	[1]
Anthony M. Frank	March 1, 1988	[1]
Marvin T. Runyon	July 6, 1992	[1]
William J. Henderson	May 16, 1998	[1]
John E. Potter	June 1, 2001	[1]

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