| 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 | 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 W. 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.