List of sea captains
This is a list of sea captains. The list includes merchant ship's captains as well as naval ship's captains. It is limited to those notable in this role.
| Image | About | Nationality | Merchant | Naval | Born | Died |
| Adams, William English navigator who went to Japan and is believed to be the first Briton ever to reach Japan. | Yes | 1564 | 1620 | |||
| Bering, Vitus Danish-born navigator in the service of the Russian Navy, captain-komandor Витус Ионассен Беринг. The first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands. The Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, Bering Island, Bering Glacier and the Bering Land Bridge are named for the explorer. | Yes | 1681 | 1741 | |||
| Alexanderson, Leroy J. Last captain of, the biggest ocean liner ever built entirely in the United States and fastest passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service. | Yes | 1910 | 2004 | |||
| Aruga, Kōsaku Japanese naval officer who participated in World War II. His most significant battles were the Battle of Leyte Gulf and at the East China Sea. | Yes | 1897 | 1945 | |||
| Bainbridge, William Commodore in the United States Navy, notable for his victory over during the War of 1812. | Yes | 1774 | 1833 | |||
| Barney, Joshua Commodore in the United States Navy who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. | Yes | 1759 | 1818 | |||
| Barron, James Served in the Virginia Navy during the last years of the American Revolution and, nearly two decades later in 1798, received a commission as a lieutenant in the new U.S. Navy. | Yes | 1769 | 1851 | |||
| Barron, Samuel Officer of the United States Navy and later Confederate Navy, acting as a representative in Europe for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. | Yes | 1809 | 1888 | |||
| Barry, John Officer in the Continental Navy and later in the United States Navy. | Yes | 1745 | 1803 | |||
| Berwick, Thomas Master mariner until he was found guilty of scuttling his ship and sentenced to twenty years transportation. At the time of his sentence he was married with seven children. He arrived in Western Australia on board in January 1868. | Yes | 1825 | 1891 | |||
| Blanchard, Phineas Banning Among the last of the American merchant trade tall ship sea captains, commanded the barks Herbert Black and Willard Mudget and the ship Bangalore. For over forty years, as president of several maritime associations in New York City, he contributed to the development of the maritime industry in the port of New York. | Yes | 1879 | 1962 | |||
| Bligh, William Officer of the Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. The notorious mutiny occurred during his command of in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift by the mutineers in Bountys launch. | Yes | 1754 | 1817 | |||
| Borghese, Prince Junio Valerio Scipione Italian naval commander during Fascism and a hard-line fascist politician in post-war Italy. | Yes | 1906 | 1974 | |||
| Brown, William Irish-born, "father of the Argentine Navy", victorious in the Independence War, the Cisplatine War, and the Guerra Grande in Uruguay | Yes | 1777 | 1857 | |||
| Buchanan, Franklin Officer in the United States Navy who became an admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War, and commanded the ironclad. | Yes | 1800 | 1874 | |||
| Cabral, Pedro Álvares Portuguese navigator and explorer, generally regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. | Yes | 1467 | 1520 | |||
| Calamai, Piero Italian senior grade shipmaster, Master aboard at time of fatal collision, on July 25, 1956, with Swedish. Italian Line's Senior Captain. | Yes | 1901 | 1972 | |||
| Peter Campbell Irish-born founder of the Uruguayan Navy. | Yes | 1780 | 1832 | |||
| Chauncey, Isaac Officer in the United States Navy | Yes | 1772 | 1840 | |||
| Columbus, Christopher Genoese navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, funded by Queen Isabella of Spain, led to general European awareness of the Americas in the Western Hemisphere. | Genoa | Yes | 1451 | 1506 | ||
| Coram, Thomas Sea captain who later operated a ship building business at Taunton, Massachusetts. He afterwards became a successful merchant in London and, in 1732, a trustee of James Oglethorpe's Georgia colony. | Yes | 1668 | 1751 | |||
| Cushing, William B. Officer in the United States Navy, best known for sinking the Confederate ironclad during a daring nighttime raid on October 27, 1864, a feat for which he received the thanks of Congress. | Yes | 1842 | 1874 | |||
| Decatur, Stephen American naval officer notable for his heroism in the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War and in the War of 1812. He was the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the U.S. Navy, and the first American celebrated as a national military hero who had not played a role in the American Revolution. | Yes | 1779 | 1820 | |||
| Drake, Francis English privateer, navigator,, and politician of the Elizabethan era. He is known for circumnavigating the globe in command of between 1577 and 1580. | Yes | Yes | c. 1540 | 1595 | ||
| Duff, George British naval officer during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, whose excellent career was cut short when he was killed by a cannonball at the Battle of Trafalgar. | Yes | 1764 | 1805 | |||
| FitzRoy, Robert Vice-Admiral FitzRoy achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality. He was an able surveyor and hydrographer and served as Governor of New Zealand from 1843 to 1845. | Yes | 1805 | 1865 | |||
| Flavel, George One of the first licensed marine pilots in the state of Oregon. Flavel would go on to amass a fortune with a business managing pilot boats on the Columbia River, making him one of the first millionaires in the state's history. | 1850 | 1893 | ||||
| Fryatt, Charles Master of the Great Eastern Railway's steamship, and he was shot by the Germans in 1916 after he used his ship to try and ram. Sometime after the attempt the Germans lay in wait for his ship and captured him. | Yes | 1872 | 1916 | |||
| da Gama, Estêvão Second son of Vasco da Gama and brother of Cristóvão da Gama, and named after his paternal grandfather Estêvão da Gama. He commanded the fleet that entered the Red Sea, with the intent of attacking the Ottoman fleet in its harbor at Suez. | Yes | ca. 1505 | 1576 | |||
| da Gama, Cristóvão Son of explorer Vasco da Gama, commanded a ship in the Red Sea against the Ottoman naval base at Suez. | Yes | 1516 | 1542 | |||
| da Gama, Paulo Portuguese explorer, son of Estêvão da Gama and the older brother of Vasco da Gama, he took part on the first sea trip from Europe to India, led by his brother, commanding the ship São Rafael, which would be later scuttled in the return trip. Paulo da Gama joined, but, already sick, died the day after his ship arrived at the Azores. | Yes | ? | 1499 | |||
| da Gama, Vasco Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. | Yes | ca. 1460–1469 | 1524 | |||
| Garibaldi, Giuseppe Italian patriot, merchant marine captain, and soldier of the Risorgimento. | Yes | 1807 | 1882 | |||
| Genda, Minoru Served in the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II, and was the strategist behind the successful December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Considered one of the most successful naval strategists and leaders in the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy. | Yes | 1904 | 1989 | |||
| Gold, Edgar German-born, Australian-Canadian lawyer, author, academic, and Master Mariner. | Yes | 1934 | ||||
| Gower, Richard Hall English mariner, empirical philosopher, nautical inventor, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. | Yes | 1768 | 1833 | |||
| Halpin, Robert Captained the Brunel-designed leviathan SS Great Eastern which laid transoceanic telegraph cables in the late 19th century. | Yes | 1836 | 1894 | |||
| Hara, Tameichi Imperial Japanese naval commander during the Pacific War and the author of the IJN manual on torpedo attack techniques, famous for his high skill. | Yes | 1900 | 1980 | |||
| Hashimoto, Mochitsura Commander of the Japanese submarine which sank on July 30, 1945, which was the single greatest disaster in US naval history. | Yes | 1909 | 2000 | |||
| Hazelwood, Joseph Captain of at the time of its 1989 oil spill. | Yes | 1946 | ||||
| Hirose, Takeo Officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy. His selfless sacrifice during the Russo-Japanese War elevated him to the status of a deified national hero. | Yes | 1868 | 1894 | |||
| Hudson, Henry English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. The Hudson River in the US, Hudson Bay in Canada, and numerous other geographical features are named after him. | Yes | ~1565 | 1611 | |||
| Jong, Piet de Officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy. A veteran submarine commander of World War II. De Jong graduated from the Royal Netherlands Naval College in 1934 and joined the Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service and served on during World War II, he ended the war as the commanding officer of that vessel, HNLMS O 24 was one of the few Dutch submarines that survived the war. During his service in World War II he was awarded the Bronze Cross twice, the first time in 1934 and for the second time in 1940. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross of the United Kingdom for his services during World War II. After World War II De Jong continued to serve in the Royal Netherlands Navy, commanding two frigates and serving as aide-de-camp to Queen Juliana. He eventually rose to the rank of captain but retired from active service in 1959. Later served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from April 5, 1967 until July 6, 1971. | Yes | 1915 | 2016 | |||
| Hull, Isaac Commodore, in the United States Navy. During the mid-1790s, the young Hull commanded several merchant vessels, losing some to French privateers. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the newly formed United States Navy in March 1798 and distinguished himself during the next two years while serving on board the frigate in the Quasi-War with France. | Yes | Yes | 1773 | 1843 | ||
| Johnstone, George Began his career at sea in the Merchant Navy, then entered the Royal Navy in 1746. Shortly after his promotion to lieutenant in 1755, Johnstone was court martialed for "insubordination and disobedience" however, his record of gallantry in combat taken into account, he was given a reprimand in 1757. He was promoted captain in 1762, and commodore in 1763. Later served as Member of Parliament. | Yes | Yes | 1730 | 1787 | ||
| Jones, Catesby ap Roger Officer in the U.S. Navy who became a commander in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. | Yes | 1821 | 1887 | |||
| Jones, John Paul Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolution. | Yes | Yes | 1747 | 1792 | ||
| Jones, Thomas ap Catesby U.S. Navy Commodore during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He began his naval career during the War of 1812, receiving honors for bravery at the Battle of Lake Borgne, Louisiana, delaying the British before the Battle of New Orleans. In 1826, he signed a treaty with King Kamehameha III of the Sandwich Islands. | Yes | 1790 | 1858 | |||
| Kaishū Japanese naval officer and statesman during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy by Sakuma Shōzan. His actual name was Rintarō. | Yes | 1823 | 1899 | |||
| Killick, James Captain of the tea clipper Challenger and founder of the firm Killick Martin & Company. He became affectionately known as the ‘China Bird’ and the ‘Admiral’. | Yes | No | 1816 | 1889 | ||
| Kountouriotis, Pavlos Greek naval admiral and statesman. He was the head commander of the Hellenic Navy General Staff during the victorious Balkan Wars and World War I. | kymer Christopher captain | Yes | 1855 | 1935 | ||
| Lander, Michael Deep Sea Captain, in former USSR, Ukraine and USA | USSR Ukraine | Yes | Yes | 1925 | 2020 | |
| Le Lacheur, William Guernsey Sea Captain widely credited in Costa Rica as having transformed the economy of this Central American country by establishing a direct regular trade route for Costa Rican coffee growers to the European market, thereby helping to establish the Costa Rican coffee trade. | Yes | 1802 | 1863 | |||
| Ladd, William American anti-war activist. He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. After graduating at Harvard in 1797 he took to the sea and came to be known as a capable New England captain. A disbeliever in war for any purpose, he turned at the outbreak of the War of 1812 and devoted both his tongue and his pen to preaching non-resistance. | Yes | 1778 | 1841 | |||
| Lawrence, James American naval hero. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against . He is probably best known today for his "Don't give up the ship!", which is still a popular naval battle cry. | Yes | 1781 | 1813 | |||
| Macdonough, Thomas American naval officer, most notably as commander of American naval forces in Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. One of the leading members of "Preble's Boys", a small group of naval officers who served during the First Barbary War, Macdonough's actions during the decisive Battle of Lake Champlain are often cited as a model of tactical preparation and execution. | Yes | Yes | 1783 | 1825 | ||
| Magellan, Ferdinand Portuguese maritime explorer who led the first circumnavigational expedition, and located the eponymous Strait of Magellan. He was also the first European to reach the Philippines. | Yes | 1480 | 1521 | |||
| Maynard, Robert Lieutenant in the British Royal Navy aboard, known for defeating the infamous pirate Blackbeard in battle. | Yes | |||||
| McClelland, Thomas Captain in the United States Navy, notable for his command of Amphibious Squadron Five in the Gulf War. | Yes | 1942 | ||||
| McGiffen, Philo Late 19th century American naval officer later serving in Chinese service as a naval advisor during the First Sino-Japanese War. Although primarily skilled as an instructor and administrator, he proved a talented tactician during the Battle of the Yalu as well as the first American to command a modern battleship in wartime. | Yes | 1860 | 1897 | |||
| Mulzac, Hugh First African American to command a vessel in the United States Merchant Marine. | Yes | 1886 | 1971 | |||
| Murphy, Richard New England fishing schooner captain, noted for surviving a series of close calls at sea. | Yes | 1838 | 1916 | |||
| Nelson, Horatio British flag officer known for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars. He served in the Royal Navy for most of his life and won a number of significant victories, most notably at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he lost his life. | Yes | 1758 | 1805 | |||
| Nelson, William "Bull" U.S. Navy officer and later a Union general in the American Civil War who commanded the Army of Kentucky. He holds the distinction of being the only naval officer to achieve the rank of major general on either side of the Civil War. He was shot and killed by a fellow Union general, Jefferson C. Davis, during an argument in 1862. | Yes | 1824 | 1862 | |||
| de Neumann, Captain Bernard Peter Awarded a George Medal for his actions during an air attack by the Luftwaffe; Charged and convicted of piracy after being captured aboard the RN prize Criton by the Vichy French off Conakry; "The Man From Timbuctoo"; Instigator and overseer of the installation of the Thames Navigation Service. | Yes | Yes | 1917 | 1972 | ||
| Noonan, Fred Born in Chicago, sailed in the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy, working his way up from ordinary seaman to quartermaster and bosun's mate, continuing on to merchant captain.a Later worked as a flight navigator, and was a pioneer of aviation. Was last seen in Lae, New Guinea on July 2, 1937 and disappeared with Amelia Earhart somewhere over the western Pacific during their World Flight. | Yes | Yes | 1893 | 1937 | ||
| Pardo, Luis Captain of the Chilean steam tug Yelcho which rescued the 22 stranded crewmen of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship from Elephant Island, Antarctica, in August 1916. | Yes | 1882 | 1935 | |||
| John Parker One of the most successful arctic whalers to sail from Hull in the nineteenth century and for many years captain of the whale ship Truelove. Captain Parker was one of those who helped in the unsuccessful search for Sir John Franklin's missing 1845 expedition to find the North West Passage. In 1847, shocked by the impoverished condition of the Inuit inhabitants of Baffin Island he brought two of them, Memiadluck and Uckaluk, to England to publicise their plight, raise money, enlist government support for their relief and to persuade the Moravian Church to send a missionary to the region. | Yes | 1800 | 1867 | |||
| Pearson, Richard British naval officer who was captain of the ship during the American Revolution. He was defeated by John Paul Jones on September 23, 1779 in a pivotal battle. | Yes | 1731 | 1806 | |||
| Pellew, Edward British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars. Pellew is remembered as an officer and a gentleman of great courage and leadership, earning his land and titles through courage, leadership and skill – serving as a paradigm of the versatility and determination of Naval Officers during the Napoleonic Wars. Pellew makes fictional appearances in the Horatio Hornblower novels. | Yes | 1757 | 1833 | |||
| Perry, Matthew Commodore of the U.S. Navy who compelled the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. | Yes | 1794 | 1858 | |||
| Perry, Oliver Hazard Officer in the United States Navy. He served in the War of 1812 against Britain and earned the nickname "Hero of Lake Erie" for leading American forces in a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie. | Yes | 1785 | 1819 | |||
| Phillips, Richard U.S. merchant mariner, shipmaster and author, who served as captain aboard during its hijacking by Somali pirates in April 2009. | Yes | 1955 | ||||
| Porter, David Officer in the United States Navy and later the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy. | Yes | 1780 | 1843 | |||
| Prat, Arturo Captain of, Prat was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor at the Naval Battle of Iquique. | Yes | 1848 | 1879 | |||
| Preble, Edward Officer in the United States Navy and United States Merchant Marine, participated in the Revolutionary War, the Quasi-War with France, and the First Barbary War. | Yes | Yes | 1761 | 1807 | ||
| Reid, Samuel Chester Officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. He served in with Commodore Thomas Truxtun and in 1803 became master of the brig Merchant. During the War of 1812 he commanded the privateer General Armstrong and at Fayal, Azores, in 1814 engaged gunboats from British men-of-war en route to Jamaica and New Orleans, Louisiana. | Yes | Yes | 1783 | 1861 | ||
| Rodgers, John American naval officer who served in the United States Navy from its organization in the 1790s through the late 1830s. His service included the Quasi-War with France and the War of 1812. | Yes | 1772 | 1838 | |||
| Rodgers, John Son of Commodore John Rodgers, was born near Havre de Grace, Maryland. He was received his appointment as a midshipman in the Navy on April 18, 1828. Service in the Mediterranean on board and opened his long career of distinguished service, and he commanded an expedition of Naval Infantry and Marines in Florida during the Seminole Wars. In the mid-1850s he succeeded Commander Ringgold in command of the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, which added greatly to our knowledge of far eastern and northern waters. Following his promotion to commander in 1855, he married and settled to work in the Navy's Japan Office in Washington, D.C., where he was serving when the Civil War broke out. | Yes | 1812 | 1882 | |||
| Ross, Eliza Ann Within a fortnight after leaving the port of Brunswick Georgia enrout to Buenos Aires, Argintina, the steel four-masted barquentine, "Reform" ran into a violent winter storm sweeping her husband, Captain David Larkin Ross overboard "to a watery grave." For fifty days, Eliza Ann Ross took command of a crew that, except for the first mate, could not speak or understand English. For fear that they might mutiny, she had to make sure the crew were not aware that the captain was gone. Her brief command made her one of the world's first female Ship Captains. | Fictional sea captains
|