United States Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United States is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress as the first Postmaster General in 1775, serving just over 15 months.
Until 1971, the postmaster general was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post Office" until the 1820s).[2] From 1829 to 1971, he was a member of the President's Cabinet.
The Cabinet post 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. The Postmaster General was in charge of the governing party's patronage, and was a powerful position which held much influence within the party.
In 1971, the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, an independent agency of the executive branch. Thus, the Postmaster General is no longer a member of the Cabinet and is no longer in Presidential succession.
The Postmaster General is the second-highest paid U.S. government official, based on publicly available salary information, after the President of the United States.[3]
Postmasters General under the Continental Congress
![](../I/m/SOsgood.jpg)
Samuel Osgood (1747–1813)
Postmasters general over the U.S. Post Office Department, 1789–1971
As non-Cabinet department, 1789–1829
Name |
State of Residence |
Date appointed |
President(s) served under |
Samuel Osgood (pictured right) |
Massachusetts |
September 26, 1789 |
Washington |
Timothy Pickering |
Pennsylvania[4] |
August 12, 1791 |
Washington |
Joseph Habersham |
Georgia |
February 25, 1795 |
Washington, Adams, Jefferson |
Gideon Granger |
Connecticut |
November 28, 1801 |
Jefferson, Madison |
Return J. Meigs, Jr. |
Ohio |
March 17, 1814 |
Madison, Monroe |
John McLean |
Ohio |
June 26, 1823 |
Monroe, J. Q. Adams |
As cabinet department, 1829–1971
Name |
State of Residence |
Date appointed |
President(s) served under |
William T. Barry |
Kentucky |
March 9, 1829 |
Jackson |
Amos Kendall |
Kentucky |
May 1, 1835 |
Jackson, Van Buren |
John M. Niles |
Connecticut |
May 19, 1840 |
Van Buren |
Francis Granger |
New York |
March 6, 1841 |
W. H. Harrison, Tyler |
Charles A. Wickliffe |
Kentucky |
September 13, 1841 |
Tyler |
Cave Johnson |
Tennessee |
March 6, 1845 |
Polk |
Jacob Collamer |
Vermont |
March 8, 1849 |
Taylor |
Nathan K. Hall |
New York |
July 23, 1850 |
Fillmore |
Samuel Dickinson Hubbard |
Connecticut |
August 31, 1852 |
Fillmore |
James Campbell |
Pennsylvania |
March 7, 1853 |
Pierce |
Aaron V. Brown |
Tennessee |
March 6, 1857 |
Buchanan |
Joseph Holt |
Kentucky |
March 14, 1859 |
Buchanan |
Horatio King |
Maine |
February 12, 1861 |
Buchanan |
Montgomery Blair |
District of Columbia |
March 5, 1861 |
Lincoln |
William Dennison |
Ohio |
September 24, 1864 |
Lincoln, A. Johnson |
Alexander W. Randall |
Wisconsin |
July 25, 1866 |
A. Johnson |
John A. J. Creswell |
Maryland |
March 5, 1869 |
Grant |
James W. Marshall |
Virginia |
July 3, 1874 |
Grant |
Marshall Jewell |
Connecticut |
August 24, 1874 |
Grant |
James N. Tyner |
Indiana |
July 12, 1876 |
Grant |
David M. Key |
Tennessee |
March 12, 1877 |
Hayes |
Horace Maynard |
Tennessee |
June 2, 1880 |
Hayes |
Thomas L. James |
New York |
March 5, 1881 |
Garfield, Arthur |
Timothy O. Howe |
Wisconsin |
December 20, 1881 |
Arthur |
Walter Q. Gresham |
Indiana |
April 3, 1883 |
Arthur |
Frank Hatton |
Iowa |
October 14, 1884 |
Arthur |
William F. Vilas |
Wisconsin |
March 6, 1885 |
Cleveland |
Donald M. Dickinson |
Michigan |
January 6, 1888 |
Cleveland |
John Wanamaker |
Pennsylvania |
March 5, 1889 |
B. Harrison |
Wilson S. Bissell |
New York |
March 6, 1893 |
Cleveland |
William L. Wilson |
West Virginia |
March 1, 1895 |
Cleveland |
James A. Gary |
Maryland |
March 5, 1897 |
McKinley |
Charles Emory Smith |
Pennsylvania |
April 21, 1898 |
McKinley, T. Roosevelt |
Henry C. Payne |
Wisconsin |
January 9, 1902 |
T. Roosevelt |
Robert J. Wynne |
Pennsylvania |
October 10, 1904 |
T. Roosevelt |
George B. Cortelyou |
New York |
March 6, 1905 |
T. Roosevelt |
George von L. Meyer |
Massachusetts |
January 15, 1907 |
T. Roosevelt |
Frank H. Hitchcock |
Massachusetts |
March 5, 1909 |
Taft |
Albert S. Burleson |
Texas |
March 5, 1913 |
Wilson |
Will H. Hays |
Indiana |
March 5, 1921 |
Harding |
Hubert Work |
Colorado |
March 4, 1922 |
Harding |
Harry S. New |
Indiana |
February 27, 1923 |
Harding, Coolidge |
Walter F. Brown |
Ohio |
March 5, 1929 |
Hoover |
James A. Farley |
New York |
March 4, 1933 |
F. Roosevelt |
Frank C. Walker |
Pennsylvania |
September 10, 1940 |
F. Roosevelt, Truman |
Robert E. Hannegan |
Missouri |
May 8, 1945 |
Truman |
Jesse M. Donaldson |
Missouri |
December 16, 1947 |
Truman |
Arthur E. Summerfield |
Michigan |
January 21, 1953 |
Eisenhower |
J. Edward Day |
California |
January 21, 1961 |
Kennedy |
John A. Gronouski |
Wisconsin |
September 30, 1963 |
Kennedy, L. Johnson |
Lawrence F. O'Brien |
Massachusetts |
November 3, 1965 |
L. Johnson |
W. Marvin Watson |
Texas |
April 26, 1968 |
L. Johnson |
Winton M. Blount |
Alabama |
January 22, 1969 |
Nixon |
Postmasters General over the U.S. Postal Service, 1971–present
Name |
Date appointed[5] |
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 Vincent Casey |
January 7, 1986 |
Preston Robert Tisch |
August 16, 1986 |
Anthony M. Frank |
March 1, 1988 |
Marvin Travis Runyon |
July 6, 1992 |
William J. Henderson |
May 16, 1998 |
John E. Potter |
June 1, 2001 |
Patrick R. Donahoe |
January 14, 2011 |
Megan Brennan |
February 1, 2015 |
Living former Postmasters General
As of October 2014, there are six living former Postmasters General, the oldest being W. Marvin Watson (1968–1969, born 1924). The most recent Postmaster General to pass away was Preston Robert Tisch (1986–1988), on November 15, 2005.
See also
Notes
External links
|
---|
| | | Founding of the United States | |
---|
| Inventions, other events | |
---|
| Writings | |
---|
| Legacy | |
---|
| Related | |
---|
| Family | |
---|
|
- American Revolutionary War Portal
|
|
|
---|
| Congresses | |
---|
| Congressional Officers | |
---|
| Civil Officers | |
---|
| Military | |
---|
|