Brantley York (1838–1842) • Braxton Craven (1842–1863, 1866–1882) • Marquis Lafayette Wood (1883–1884) • John Franklin Crowell (1887–1894) • John Carlisle Kilgo (1894–1910) • William Preston Few (1910–1940) • Robert Lee Flowers (1941–1948) • Arthur Hollis Edens (1949–1960) • Julian Deryl Hart (1960–1963) • Douglas Knight (1963–1969) • Terry Sanford (1969–1985) • H. Keith H. Brodie (1985–1993) • Nannerl O. Keohane (1993–2004) • Richard H. Brodhead (2004–)
* The institution was not officially established as Duke University until 1924.