The Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. From 1872 to 1971, the postmaster general was 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. In 1971, the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a government-owned corporation. Thus, the Postmaster General is no longer a member of the Cabinet.
During the Civil War, postal services in the Confederacy were provided by the Confederate Post-office Department, headed by Postmaster General John Henninger Reagan.
Postmasters-General under the Continental Congress
Cabinet-level Postmasters-General, 1789-1971
| Name | Date appointed | President(s) served under
|
| 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
|
| Horace Maynard
| ???, 1880
| 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 Lengerke 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
|
Postmasters-General, 1971-present
| Name | Date appointedTemplate:Ref
|
| 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
|
See also
Notes
- Template:Note Since July 1, 1971, the Postmaster General has been appointed by and serves under the Governors of the United States Postal Service.
External link
- Official site (http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/pmg.htm)
