First Lord of the Admiralty
From British Offices and Honours
The Admiralty was first put in commission in 1628. It was always in commission from 1709 to 1964, except for a brief period in 1827-28.
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord Weston from 1633, the Earl of Portland | 1628 | 1635 | ||
| The Earl of Lindsey | 1635 | 1636 | ||
| William Juxon, Bishop of Lincoln | 1636 | 1638 | ||
| not in commission | 1638 | 1642 | ||
| The Earl of Northumberland | 1642 | 1643 | ||
| The Lord Cottington | 1643 | 1646 | ||
| not in commission | 1660 | 9 July 1673 | ||
| Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 9 July 1673 | 14 May 1679 | ||
| Sir Henry Capell | 14 May 1679 | 19 February 1681 | ||
| Daniel Finch from 1681 known as Lord Finch; from 1682 the Earl of Nottingham | 19 February 1681 | 19 May 1684 | Tory | |
| not in commission | 19 May 1684 | 8 March 1689 | ||
| Arthur Herbert from 1689, the Earl of Torrington | 8 March 1689 | 20 January 1690 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Pembroke | 20 January 1690 | 10 March 1692 | Tory | |
| The Lord Cornwallis | 10 March 1692 | 15 April 1693 | ||
| The Viscount Falkland | 15 April 1693 | 2 May 1694 | Whig | |
| Sir Edward Russell from 1697, the Earl of Orford | 2 May 1694 | 31 May 1699 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Bridgwater | 31 May 1699 | 19 March 1701 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Pembroke | 4 April 1701 | 26 January 1702 | Tory | |
| not in commission | 26 January 1702 | 8 November 1709 | ||
| The Earl of Orford | 8 November 1709 | 4 October 1710 | Whig | |
| Sir John Leake | 4 October 1710 | 30 September 1713 | senior member of the position, but refused title of First Lord | |
| The Earl of Strafford | 30 September 1713 | September 1714 | ||
| The Earl of Orford | 14 October 1714 | 16 April 1717 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Berkeley | 16 April 1717 | 2 August 1727 | Whig | |
| The Viscount Torrington | 2 August 1727 | 21 June 1733 | Whig | |
| Sir Charles Wager | 21 June 1733 | 19 March 1742 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Winchilsea | 19 March 1742 | 27 December 1744 | Whig | |
| The Duke of Bedford | 27 December 1744 | 26 February 1748 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Sandwich | 26 February 1748 | 22 June 1751 | Whig | |
| The Lord Anson | 22 June 1751 | 17 November 1756 | Whig | |
| The Earl Temple | 17 November 1756 | 6 April 1757 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Winchilsea | 6 April 1757 | 2 July 1757 | Whig | |
| The Lord Anson | 2 July 1757 | 17 June 1762 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Halifax | 17 June 1762 | 18 October 1762 | Whig | |
| George Grenville | 18 October 1762 | 20 April 1763 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Sandwich | 20 April 1763 | 16 September 1763 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Egmont | 16 September 1763 | 15 September 1766 | Whig | |
| Sir Charles Saunders | 15 September 1766 | 11 December 1766 | ||
| Sir Edward Hawke | 11 December 1766 | 12 January 1771 | ||
| The Earl of Sandwich | 12 January 1771 | 27 March 1782 | Tory | |
| Augustus Keppel from 1782, the Viscount Keppel | 1 April 1782 | 30 January 1783 | Whig | |
| The Viscount Howe | 30 January 1783 | 10 April 1783 | ||
| The Viscount Keppel | 10 April 1783 | 31 December 1783 | Whig | |
| The Viscount Howe | 31 December 1783 | 16 July 1788 | ||
| The Earl of Chatham | 16 July 1788 | 19 December 1794 | Tory | |
| The Earl Spencer | 19 December 1794 | 19 February 1801 | Portland Whig | |
| The Earl of St Vincent | 19 February 1801 | 15 May 1804 | Tory | |
| The Viscount Melville | 15 May 1804 | 2 May 1805 | Tory | |
| The Lord Barham | 2 May 1805 | 10 February 1806 | Tory | |
| Charles Grey from 1806, known as Viscount Howick | 10 February 1806 | 29 Septembr 1806 | Whig | |
| Thomas Grenville | 29 September 1806 | 31 March 1807 | Whig | |
| The Lord Mulgrave | 6 April 1807 | 4 May 1810 | Tory | |
| Charles Philip Yorke | 4 May 1810 | 25 March 1812 | Tory | |
| The Viscount Melville | 25 March 1812 | 8 April 1827 | Tory | |
| not in commission | 2 May 1827 | 19 September 1828 | ||
| The Viscount Melville | 19 September 1828 | 22 November 1830 | Tory | |
| Sir James Graham | 22 November 1830 | 11 June 1834 | Whig | |
| The Lord Auckland | 11 June 1834 | 14 November 1834 | Whig | |
| The Earl de Grey | 15 December 1834 | 8 April 1835 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Auckland | 25 April 1835 | 19 September 1835 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Minto | 19 September 1835 | 30 August 1841 | Whig | |
| The Earl of Haddington | 8 September 1841 | 13 January 1846 | Conservative | |
| The Earl of Ellenborough | 13 January 1846 | 13 July 1846 | Conservative | |
| The Earl of Auckland | 13 July 1846 | 18 January 1849 | Whig | |
| Sir Francis Baring | 18 January 1849 | 27 February 1852 | Whig | |
| The Duke of Northumberland | 27 February 1852 | 23 December 1852 | Conservative | |
| Sir James Graham | 5 January 1853 | 8 March 1855 | Peelite | |
| Sir Charles Wood | 8 March 1855 | 21 February 1858 | Whig | |
| Sir John Pakington | 8 March 1858 | 11 June 1859 | Conservative | |
| The Duke of Somerset | 27 June 1859 | 26 June 1866 | Liberal | |
| Sir John Pakington | 12 July 1866 | 8 March 1867 | Conservative | |
| Henry Lowry-Corry | 8 March 1867 | 1 December 1868 | Conservative | |
| Hugh Childers | 9 December 1868 | 24 March 1871 | Liberal | |
| George Goschen | 24 March 1871 | 17 February 1874 | Liberal | |
| George Ward Hunt | 21 February 1874 | 14 August 1877 | Conservative | |
| William Henry Smith | 14 August 1877 | 21 April 1880 | Conservative | |
| The Earl of Northbrook | 28 April 1880 | 9 June 1885 | Liberal | |
| Lord George Hamilton | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 | Conservative | |
| The Marquess of Ripon | 9 February 1886 | 20 July 1886 | Liberal | |
| Lord George Hamilton | 9 August 1886 | 11 August 1892 | Conservative | |
| The Earl Spencer | 19 August 1892 | 21 June 1895 | Liberal | |
| George Goschen | 29 June 1895 | 12 November 1900 | Liberal Unionist | |
| The Earl of Selborne | 12 November 1900 | 27 March 1905 | Liberal Unionist | |
| The Earl Cawdor | 27 March 1905 | 4 December 1905 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Tweedmouth | 10 December 1905 | 12 April 1908 | Liberal | |
| Reginald McKenna | 12 April 1908 | 23 October 1911 | Liberal | |
| Winston Churchill | 23 October 1911 | 25 May 1915 | Liberal | |
| Arthur Balfour | 25 May 1915 | 5 December 1916 | Unionist | |
| Sir Edward Carson | 10 December 1916 | 17 July 1917 | Unionist | |
| Sir Eric Geddes | 17 July 1917 | 10 January 1919 | Unionist | |
| Walter Long | 10 January 1919 | 13 February 1921 | Unionist | |
| The Lord Lee of Fareham | 13 February 1921 | 19 October 1922 | Unionist | |
| Leo Amery | 24 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | |
| The Viscount Chelmsford | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | |
| William Bridgeman | 6 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | |
| Albert Victor Alexander | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | |
| Sir Austen Chamberlain | 25 August 1931 | 5 November 1931 | Conservative | |
| Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell | 5 November 1931 | 5 June 1936 | Conservative | |
| Sir Samuel Hoare | 5 June 1936 | 28 May 1937 | Conservative | |
| Duff Cooper | 28 May 1937 | 27 October 1938 | Conservative | |
| The Earl Stanhope | 27 October 1938 | 3 September 1939 | Conservative | |
| Winston Churchill | 3 September 1939 | 10 May 1940 | Conservative | |
| Albert Victor Alexander | 11 May 1940 | 23 May 1945 | Labour | |
| Brendan Bracken | 25 May 1945 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | |
| Albert Victor Alexander | 3 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | Labour | |
| The Viscount Hall | 4 October 1946 | 24 May 1951 | Labour | |
| Lord Pakenham | 24 May 1951 | 13 October 1951 | Labour | |
| James Thomas | 13 October 1951 | 2 September 1956 | Conservative | |
| The Viscount Hailsham | 2 September 1956 | 16 January 1957 | Conservative | |
| The Earl of Selkirk | 16 January 1957 | 16 October 1959 | Conservative | |
| The Lord Carrington | 16 October 1959 | 22 October 1963 | Conservative | |
| The Earl Jellicoe | 22 October 1963 | 1 April 1964 |
The office was abolished after 1964.
