Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index In the United Kingdom, the Postmaster General is a now defunct ministerial position. The king's letters to his subjects are known to have been carried by relays of couriers as long ago as the 15th century. In 1510, Sir Brian Tuke was appointed as "Master of the King's Post". In 1609 it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General. 1660 saw the establishment of the General Letter Office, this would later become the General Post Office (GPO). The Telegraph Act of 1868 established the office of the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs. This would subsequently extend to telecommunications and broadcasting. The title of "Postmaster General" was abolished under the Post Office Act of 1969. A new public authority governed by a chairman was established under the name of the "Post Office." The position of "Postmaster General" was replaced with "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications". Former holders of this post: Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester 1823-1826 Lord Frederick Montagu 1826-1827 William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester 1827-1830 Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond 1830-1834 Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham 1834 Lord Maryborough 1834-1835 Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham 1835 Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield 1835-1841 William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale 1841-1845 Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans 1845-1846 Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde 1846-1852 Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke 1852 Charles John Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning 1853-1855 George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll 1855-1858 Lord Colchester 1858-1859 James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin 1859-1860 Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1860-1866 James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose 1866-1868 Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington 1868-1871 William Monsell 1871-1873 Sir Lyon Playfair 1873-1874 Lord John Manners 1874-1880 Henry Fawcett 1880-1884 George John Shaw-Lefevre 1884-1885 Lord John Manners 1885-1886 Lord Volwerton 1886 Henry Cecil Raikes 1886-1891 Sir James Fergusson 1891-1892 Arnold Morley 1892-1895 Henry Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk 1895 -1900 Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry 1900-1902 Austen Chamberlain 1902-1903 Edward George Villiers Stanley, Lord Stanley 1903-1905 Sidney Buxton 1905-1910 Herbert Samuel 1910-1914 Charles Hobhouse 1914-1915 Herbert Samuel 1915-1916 Joseph Pease 1916 Albert Illingworth 1916-1921 Frederick Kellaway 1921-1922 Neville Chamberlain 1922-1923 William Joynson-Hicks 1923 Sir Laming Worthington-Evans 1923-1924 Vernon Hartshorn 1924 Sir William Mitchell-Thomson 1924-1929 Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith 1929-1931 Clement Attlee 1931 Sir William Ormsby-Gore 1931 Sir Kingsley Wood 1931-1935 Geoffrey Tryon 1935-1940 William Morrison 1940-1942 Harry Crookshank 1942-1945 William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel 1945-1947 Wilfrid Poling 1947-1950 Ness Edwards 1950-1951 Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr 1951-1955 Charles Hill 1955-1957 Ernest Bevins 1957-1959 Ernest Marples 1959-1964 Anthony Wedgwood Benn 1964-1966 Edward Short 1966-1968 Roy Mason 1968 John Stonehouse 1968-1969 This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.