A list of United States Postmaster Generals, the names of those who appointed them, and the dates they took office. All appointments by the President were made with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. A star * indicates a carryover from the previous administration.
Continental Congress
Appointed Postmaster General
Benjamin Franklin on July 26, 1775, Richard Bache on November 7, 1776, and Ebenezer Hazard on January 28, 1782
George Washington
Appointed Postmaster General Samuel Osgood on September 26, 1789, Timothy Pickering on August 12, 1791, and Joseph Habersham on February 25, 1795
John Adams
Postmaster General Joseph Habersham*
Postmaster General Joseph Habersham* and appointed Gideon Granger on Nov.28, 1801
James Madison
Postmaster General Gideon Granger* and appointed Return Meigs Jr. on March 17, 1814
James Monroe
Postmaster General Return Meigs Jr.* and appointed John McLean on June 26, 1823
John Quincy Adams
Postmaster General John McLean*
Andrew Jackson
Appointed Postmaster General William Barry on March 9, 1829 and Amos Kendall on May 1, 1835
Martin Van Buren
Postmaster General Amos Kendall* and appointed John Niles on May 19, 1840
William Henry Harrison
Appointed Postmaster General Francis Granger on March 6, 1841
John Tyler
Postmaster General Francis Granger and appointed Charles Wickliffe on September 13, 1841
James Polk
Appointed Postmaster General Cave Johnson on March 6, 1845
Zachary Taylor
Appointed Postmaster General Jacob Collamer on March 8, 1849
Millard Filmore
Appointed Postmaster General Nathan Hall on July 23, 1850 and
Samuel Hubbard on August 31, 1852
Franklin Pierce
appointed Postmaster General James Campbell on March 7, 1853
James Buchanan
Appointed Postmaster General Aaron Brown on March 6, 1857, Joseph Holt on March 14, 1859, and Horatio King on February 12, 1861
Appointed Postmaster General Montgomery Blair on March 5, 1861 and William Dennison on September 24, 1864
Andrew Johnson
Postmaster General William Dennison* and appointed Alexander Randall on July 25, 1866
Ulysses Grant
Appointed Postmaster General John Creswell on March 5, 1869, James Marshall on July 3, 1874, Marshall Jewell on August 24, 1874, and James Tyner on July 12, 1876
Rutherford Hayes
Appointed Postmaster General David Key on March 12, 1877 and Horace Maynard on June 2, 1880
James Garfield
Appointed Postmaster General Thomas James on March 5, 1881
Chester Arthur
Postmaster General Thomas James* and appointed Timothy Howe on December 20, 1881, Walter Gresham on April 3, 1883, and Frank Hatton on October 14, 1884
Benjamin Harrison
Appointed Postmaster General John Wanamaker on March 5, 1889
Grover Cleveland
Appointed Postmaster General Wilson Bissell on March 6, 1893 and William Wilson on March 1, 1895
William McKinley
Appointed Postmaster General James Gary on March 5, 1897 and Charles Emory Smith on April 21, 1898
