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 (those who already have Wikipedia articles).
ImageAboutNationalityMerchantNavalBornDiedAdams, William English navigator who is believed to be the first Briton to reach Japan, becoming a key naval advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yes 1564 1620Alcaraz, Ramon A Filipino naval officer decorated for his heroism as part of the Offshore Patrol unit of the U.S. Army Forces (USAFFE) during WW2 and considered to be the father of the Philippine Marine Corps. Yes 1915 2009Alexanderson, Leroy 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. Yes19102004Aruga, Kōsaku Japanese naval officer who participated in World War II. Known for his participation in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.Yes18971945Bainbridge, William Commodore in the U.S Navy, notable for his victory over during the War of 1812.Yes17741833Barney, Joshua Commodore in the U.S Navy who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Yes17591818Barron, James An American who served in the Virginia State Navy during the last years of the American Revolution and commissioned in the new U.S. Navy.Yes17691851Barron, Samuel American naval officer of the U.S. Navy and later Confederate Navy, acting as a representative in Europe for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Yes18091888Barry, John Officer in the Continental Navy and later in the U.S. Navy.Yes17451803Beebe, James. 19th-century American Sandy Hook Pilot. Known for being the longest serving Sandy Hook-New Jersey pilot, having served for 55 years as a Sandy Hook pilot. 18271917Bering, Vitus Danish-born navigator in the service of the Russian Navy. The first European to discover Alaska. Many geographical features in the area are named for the explorer. Yes 1681 1741Berwick, Thomas A third generation Scottish master mariner until he was found guilty of scuttling his ship and sentenced to twenty years transportation in Australia. Yes18251891Blanchard, 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. Yes18791962Blake, Peter New Zealand yachtsman who won the Whitbread Race, Jules Verne Trophy, and led New Zealand to successive victories in the America's Cup.19482001Bligh, William Royal Navy officer known for the mutiny that occurred during his command of . Bligh successfully navigated the ship's launch 6,700km to safety after being set adrift by the mutineers.Yes17541817de la Bodega y Quadra, Juan Francisco Spanish Criollo naval officer born in Peru. Explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska. Bodega Bay is named for him.Yes17431794Brown, William Irish-born, "father of the Argentine Navy", victorious in the Independence War, the Cisplatine War, and the Guerra Grande in UruguayYes17771857Buchanan, Franklin American naval officer who served as an admiral in the Confederate Navy during the Civil War, and commanded the ironclad .Yes18001874Cabral, Pedro Álvares Portuguese explorer and navigator, generally regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil.Yes14671520Calamai, Piero Italian master aboard at time of her fatal collision with MS Stockholm. Yes19011972Campbell, Peter Irish-born founder of the Uruguayan Navy.Yes17801832Chung-Hoon, Gordon Chinese/Hawaiian-American naval officer. First Asian-American to obtain flag rank. Distinguished for his command of USS Sigsbee in WW2 and honored with an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer named in his honor.Yes19101979Columbus, Christopher Genoese navigator, colonizer, and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, on behalf of Spain, led to general European awareness of the Americas.Yes14511506Comstock, Andrew 19th-century maritime pilot best known for the captain of Columbia and Magic in the America's Cup. 1828 1910Cook, James British explorer, cartographer and naval officer famous for his pioneering voyages in the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii.YesYes17281779Cooper, Thomas 19th-century American maritime pilot best known for piloting battleships built at the Boston Navy Yard on their initial seatrials. 1833 1906Coram, Thomas Sea captain who later operated a ship building business at Taunton, Massachusetts. Yes16681751Cushing, William American naval officer, best known for sinking the Confederate ironclad , a feat for which he received the thanks of Congress.Yes18421874Decatur, Stephen American naval officer notable for his heroism in the First and Second Barbary Wars, and in the War of 1812. The youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the U.S. Navy.Yes17791820 Đỗ, Kiếm South Vietnamese naval officer who secretly organised the evacuation of over 30,000 refugees aboard 32 South Vietnamese navy ships during the Fall of Saigon, preventing those ships from falling into the hands of North Vietnamese. Republic of VietnamYes1933Drake, Francis English privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Known for circumnavigating the globe in command of .YesYesca. 15401595Duff, George Distinguished British naval officer of the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.Yes17641805Erikson, Leif Norse explorer thought to be the first European to set foot on continental North America, prior to Christopher Columbus.Norsec. 970c. 1025Farragut, David American naval officer, the first admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead".Yes18011870Elcano, Juan Sebastián
Spanish Basque navigator and explorer best known for taking command and completing the first circumnavigation of the world following Magellan's demise.Yes14761526FitzRoy, Robert British captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who revolutionized the art of weather forecasting. Yes18051865 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. 18501893Fryatt, 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 . Yes18721916da 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.Yesca. 1460–14691524Garibaldi, Giuseppe Italian patriot, Italian shipmaster and merchant marine deep-sea captain. He is celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe. He fought in numerous military campaigns that led to the Italian unificationYes18071882Genda, Minoru Japanese naval officer during World War II, and was considered one of the most successful naval strategists of the Imperial Japanese Navy, including that of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Yes19041989Gower, Richard Hall English mariner, empirical philosopher, nautical inventor, entrepreneur, and humanitarian.Yes17681833Gravely, Samuel American naval officer. The first African American in the U.S. Navy to command a Navy ship, the first fleet commander, and the first to become a flag officer, retiring as a vice admiral.Yes19222004 Greenlaw, Linda American author and at the time, the only female swordfishing boat captain on the East Coast of the United States. She was featured in the 1997 book The Perfect Storm and the film The Perfect Storm.Yes1960Guan, Tianpei Chinese admiral of the Qing dynasty and "Commander-in-Chief of Naval Forces". Established courteous relations with British Rear-Admiral Frederick Maitland. Fought in the First and Second Battle of Chuenpi, and the Battle of the Bogue. Yes17811841Halpin, Robert Captained the Brunel-designed leviathan , which laid transoceanic telegraph cables in the late 19th century.Yes18361894Hara, Tameichi Japanese naval commander during the Pacific War and the author of the IJN manual on torpedo attack techniques.Yes19001980Hashimoto, Mochitsura Commander of the Japanese submarine which sank , the single greatest disaster in US naval history.Yes19092000Hazelwood, Joseph Captain of at the time of its 1989 oil spill.Yes1946 Healy, Michael A. American Captain of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and the first African-American to command a ship of the United States government.Yes18391904Hirose, Takeo Japanese naval officer during the Russo-Japanese War whose sacrifice elevated him to the status of national hero.Yes18681904Henderson, Joseph 19th-century American harbor pilot who guided large vessels into and out of New York Harbor as a Sandy Hook pilot. 1826 1890Hudson, Henry English sea explorer and navigator, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and the northeastern United States. Numerous geographical features have been named for him. Yes~15651611Hull, Isaac American naval officer who distinguished himself as XO aboard the frigate in the Quasi-War with France, and later as commander during her battle with HMS Guerriere during the War of 1812.YesYes17731843Johnson, Irving An American sail training pioneer, adventurer, lecturer and writer, best known for his film Around Cape Horn, and seven circumavigations of the world, each time with an amateur crew of students.YesYes19051991Jones, Christopher English captain of the 1620 voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony.Yesc. 15701622Johnstone, George British mariner and naval officer, later serving as Member of Parliament.YesYes17301787Jones, Catesby ap Roger American naval officer who joined the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.Yes18211887Jones, John Paul Scottish sailor and the United States' first well-known naval officer during the American Revolution.YesYes17471792Jones, Thomas ap Catesby American naval officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. Distinguished for his bravery during the Battle of Lake Borgne.Yes17901858Jong, Piet de Decorated Dutch naval officer and submarine commander during World War II. Later served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.Yes19152016Kapahulehua, Kawika Hawaiian sailor who was the first to captain the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa from Hawaii to Tahiti using only traditional navigation techniques.Yes19302007Kaishū, Katsu Japanese naval officer and statesman during the end of the Tokugawa shogunate into the Meiji restoration.Yes18231899 Kelley, Beverly American Coast Guard officer who was the first woman appointed to command an American military vessel, the patrol boat USCGC Cape Newagen, in 1979.Yes~1954 Khương, Hữu Bá Highly decorated South Vietnamese naval officer with numerous "command-at-sea" posts, including accepting and delivering the first Vietnamese Navy ship across the Pacific from the US. Republic of Vietnam Yes19302015Killick, 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’.YesNo18161889Kountouriotis, Pavlos Greek naval admiral and commander of the Hellenic Navy during the Balkan Wars and World War I, Later became the first and third President of Greece.Yes18551935Kuki, Yoshitaka Japanese naval commander during Japan's Sengoku Period, under Oda Nobunaga, and later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Yes15421600LaRue, Leonard American captain of the SS Meredith Victory, a U.S. Merchant Marine cargo ship that evacuated over 14,000 refugees during the Korean War, the largest humanitarian rescue operation by a single ship in history. Yes19142001Le Lacheur, William Sea captain from Guernsey widely credited as having transformed the economy of Costa Rica by establishing the Costa Rican coffee trade. Yes18021863Ladd, William