Joseph Gibson Hoyt, 1858-1862

William Chauvenet, 1862-1869

Benjamin Tweed (acting), 1869-1870

Abram Litton (acting), 1870

William Greenleaf Eliot, 1870-1887

Marshall Snow (acting) 1887-1891

Winfield Scott Chaplin, 1891-1907

David F. Houston, 1908-1913

Frederic Aldin Hall, 1913-1923

Herbert S. Hadley, 1923-1927

George R. Throop, 1927-1944

Harry Brookings Wallace (acting) 1944-1945

Arthur Holly Compton, 1945-1953

Ethan A.H. Shepley, 1953-1961

Carl Tolman, 1961-1962

Thomas H. Eliot, 1962-1971

William H. Danforth, 1971-1995

Mark S. Wrighton, 1995-