Alexander Dallas Bache: 1863-1867
Joseph Henry: 1868-1878
William Barton Rogers: 1879-1882
Othniel Charles Marsh: 1883-1895
Wolcott Gibbs: 1895-1900
Alexander Agassiz: 1901-1907
Ira Remsen: 1907-1913
William Henry Welch: 1913-1917
Charles Doolittle Walcott: 1917-1923
Albert Abraham Michelson: 1923-1927
Thomas Hunt Morgan: 1927-1931
William Wallace Campbell: 1931-1935
Frank Rattray Lillie: 1935-1939
Frank Baldwin Jewett: 1939-1947
Alfred Newton Richards: 1947-1950
Detlev Wulf Bronk: 1950-1962
Frederick Seitz: 1962-1969
Philip Handler: 1969-1981
Frank Press: 1981-1993
Bruce Michael Alberts: 1993-2005
Ralph J. Cicerone: 2005-present

Augustus B. Kinzel: 1964-1966
Eric A. Walker: 1966-1970
Clarence H. Linder: 1970-1973
Robert C. Seamans, Jr.: 1973-1974
William E. Shoupp: 1974-1975
Courtland D. Perkins: 1975-1983
Robert M. White: 1983-1995
Harold Liebowitz: 1995-1996
William A. Wulf: 1996-2007
Charles Vest: 2007-

Robert J. Glaser: Acting President, 1970-1971
John R. Hogness: 1971-1974
Donald S. Fredrickson: 1974-1975
David A. Hamburg: 1975-1980
Frederick C. Robbins: 1980-1985
Samuel O. Thier: 1985-1991
Stuart Bondurant: Acting President, 1991-1992
Kenneth I. Shine: 1992-2002
Harvey V. Fineberg: 2002-present

George Ellery Hale: 1916-1918
John Campbell Merriam: 1918-1919
James Roland Angell: 1919-1920
Henry Andrews Bumstead: 1920-1921
John Campbell Merriam: 1921-1923
Gano Dunn: 1923-1928
George Kimball Burgess: 1928-1932
William Henry Howell: 1932-1933
Isaiah Bowman: 1933-1935
Frank Rattray Lillie: 1935-1936
Ludvig Hektoen: 1936-1938
Ross Granville Harrison: 1938-1946
Detlev Wulf Bronk: 1946-1950
Douglas Whitaker: 1950-1951
William Walden Rubey: 1951-1954
Detlev Wulf Bronk: 1954-1962
Frederick Seitz: 1962-1969
Philip Handler: 1969-1981
Frank Press: 1981-1993
Bruce Michael Alberts: 1993-2005
Ralph J. Cicerone: 2005-president