Following is a list of persons who have headed the United States Patent Office. The title associated with this function has changed over time, from Superintendent of Patents to Commissioner of Patents to Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. The duties of the office have also evolved significantly, including coming to encompass the supervision of trademark issuance as well as that of patents.
| Patent Office Head | Began service |
Ended service |
| William Thornton | 1 Jun 1802 | 28 Mar 1828 |
| William P. Jones | 12 Apr 1828 | 10 Jun 1829 |
| John D. Craig | 11 Jun 1829 | 1 Feb 1835 |
| James Chamberlayne Pickett | 1 Feb 1835 | May 1835 |
| Henry L. Ellsworth | 8 Jul 1835 | 1 Apr 1845[1] |
| Edmund Burke | May 4, 1845 | 1849 |
| Thomas Ewbank | May 9, 1849 | 1852 |
| Silas H. Hodges | November 8, 1852 | 1853 |
| Charles Mason | May 16, 1853 | 5 Aug 1857 |
| Joseph Holt | September 10, 1857 | Mar 1859 |
| William Darius Bishop | May 27, 1859 | 1860 |
| Philip F. Thomas | February 16, 1860 | 10 Dec 1860 |
| David P. Holloway | March 28, 1861 | 1865 |
| Thomas Clarke Theaker | August 17, 1866 | 20 Jan 1868 |
| Elisha Foote | July 29, 1868 | Mar 1869 |
| Samuel S. Fisher | April 26, 1869 | 10 Nov 1870 |
| Mortimer D. Leggett | January 16, 1871 | 1874 |
| John M. Thacher | November 4, 1874 | 1 Oct 1875 |
| Robert Holland Duell | October 1, 1875 | 1877 |
| Ellis Spear | January 30, 1877 | 1878 |
| Halbert Eleazer Paine | November 1, 1878 | 1880 |
| Edgar M. Marble | May 7, 1880 | 1883 |
| Benjamin Butterworth | November 1, 1883 | 1885 |
| Martin Van Buren Montgomery | March 23, 1885 | 1887 |
| Benton Jay Hall | April 12, 1887 | 1889 |
| Charles Elliott Mitchell | April 1, 1889 | 1891 |
| William E. Simonds | August 1, 1891 | 1892 |
| John S. Seymour | March 31, 1893 | 1897 |
| Benjamin Butterworth | April 7, 1897 | 1898 |
| Charles Holland Duell | February 3, 1898 | 1901 |
| Frederick Innes Allen | April 11, 1901 | 1907 |
| Edward Bruce Moore | 1907 | 1913 |
| Thomas Ewing | 1913 | 1917 |
| James T. Newton | 1917 | 1920 |
| Robert Frederick Whitehead | 1920 | 1921 |
| Melvin H. Coulston | 1921 | 1921 |
| Thomas E. Robertson | 1921 | 1933 |
| Conway Payton Coe | 1933 | 14 Sep 1945 |
| Casper W. Ooms | 15 Sep 1945 | 1947 |
| Lawrence C. Kingsland | 1947 | 1949 |
| John A. Marzall | 1949 | 1953 |
| Robert C. Watson | 1953 | 1961 |
| David Lowell Ladd | 1961 | 1963 |
| Edward J. Brenner | 1964 | 1969 |
| William E. Schuyler, Jr. | 1969 | 1971 |
| Robert Gottschalk | 1972 | 1973 |
| C. Marshall Dann | 1974 | 1977 |
| Donald W. Banner | 1978 | 1979 |
| Sidney A. Diamond | 1979 | 1981 |
| Gerald J. Mossinghoff | 1981 | 1985 |
| Donald J. Quigg | 1985 | 1990 |
| Harry F. Manbeck, Jr. | 1990 | 1992 |
| Bruce A. Lehman | 5 Aug 1993 | 1998 |
| Q. Todd Dickinson | 1998 | 19 Jan 2001 |
| Nicholas P. Godici | Jan 2001 | 29 Mar 2005 |
| John J. Doll | Apr 2005 | Nov 2008 |
| Margaret A. Focarino | Nov 2008 | 13 Aug 2009 |
| John J. Doll | 13 Aug 2009 | 5 Oct 2009 |
| Robert L. Stoll | 5 Oct 2009 | Present |
Beginning in 2001, the Patent Office has been under an Undersecretary of Commerce. The persons holding this office have been:
| Patent Office Head | Began service |
Ended service |
| James E. Rogan | 10 Dec 2001 | 9 Jan 2004 |
| Jon Dudas | 2004 | 20 Jan 2009 |
| John J. Doll | 20 Jan 2009 | 13 Aug 2009 |
| David Kappos | 13 Aug 2009 | Present |