Commandants of the U.S. Coast Guard
& Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Division
Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Bureau
(The Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau.)
- 1843-1848 Captain Alexander V. Fraser, USRM
- 1848-1849 Captain Richard Evans, USRM
In 1849 the Revenue Marine Bureau was dissolved, and the Revenue Marine fell under the control the Commissioner of Customs until the Revenue Marine Bureau was again established in 1869.
- 1869-1871 N. Broughton Devereux
- 1871-1878 Sumner I. Kimball
- 1878-1885 Ezra Clark
- 1885-1889 Peter Bonnett
Commandants [click on the name for a
biography and photograph]
- 1889-1895 Captain Leonard G. Shepard, USRCS, Chief, Revenue Marine Division
- 1895-1905 Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, USRCS, Chief, Revenue Marine Division
- 1905-1911 Captain Worth G. Ross, USRCS, Captain-Commandant (the office of Captain-Commandant was first created in 1908 and Ross therefore is the "first" officer to hold that office and the title of "Captain-Commandant.")
- 1911-1919 Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, Captain-Commandant; Chief Division of Revenue Cutter Service (became Coast Guard in 1915)
- 1919-1924 Rear Admiral William F. Reynolds, first Captain- and later Rear Admiral-Commandant. Re-appointed Commandant on 12 January 1923 with rank of Rear Admiral effective 2 October 1923. He was the first officer to attain this rank.
- 1924-1932 Rear Admiral Frederick C. Billard
- 1932-1936 Rear Admiral Harry G. Hamlet
- 1936-1946 Admiral Russell R. Waesche. Appointed Commandant as Rear Admiral. Appointed Full Admiral 4 April 1945. First officer to attain ranks of Vice Admiral and Admiral.
- 1946-1949 Admiral Joseph F. Farley
- 1949-1954 Vice Admiral Merlin O’Neill
- 1954-1962 Admiral Alfred C. Richmond. Appointed Commandant as Vice Admiral; appointed Admiral 1 June 1960 by act of 14 May 1960. Public Law 86-474, under which all Coast Guard Commandants thereafter automatically became Admirals.
- 1962-1966 Admiral Edwin J. Roland
- 1966-1970 Admiral Willard J. Smith
- 1970-1974 Admiral Chester R. Bender
- 1974-1978 Admiral Owen W. Siler
- 1978-1982 Admiral John B. Hayes
- 1982-1986 Admiral James S. Gracey
- 1986-1990 Admiral Paul A. Yost, Jr.
- 1990-1994 Admiral J. William Kime
- 1994-1998 Admiral Robert E. Kramek
- 1998-2002 Admiral James M. Loy
- 2002-2006 Admiral Thomas H. Collins
- 2006-Present Admiral Thad W. Allen
Last Modified 7/24/2008