The History of the Fed: 17 Chairs Since 1914

A single figure is enough to measure the scale of the job: in June 1981, Paul Volcker pushed the fed funds rate to roughly 20% to strangle double-digit inflation. Forty-five years later, on the very day the FOMC meets again — September 16, 2026 — that same policy rate sits between 3.50% and 3.75%. Between these two snapshots, only 17 chairs have led the Federal Reserve across 112 years of existence, a role that today weighs on the valuation of every stock, every bond, and every currency on the planet.

This guide traces, chair by chair, more than a century of US monetary policy: the halting beginnings of 1914, the Great Depression, the founding of the modern FOMC in 1935-1936, the Great Inflation of the 1970s, the Volcker shock, the marathon terms of Greenspan and Powell, and the arrival of Kevin Warsh in May 2026. For the mechanics of the meetings themselves and how the committee operates, head to the complete FOMC guide; here, it's the human and decision-making story of the role that unfolds, term by term.

Key Takeaways

• 17 chairs have led the Fed since Charles Hamlin's appointment on August 10, 1914, two years after the institution was created by the Federal Reserve Act.
• The longest term belongs to William McChesney Martin: 18 years and 9 months, from 1951 to 1970, under four different US presidents.
• The shortest term belongs to G. William Miller: just 17 months, from March 1978 to August 1979, with inflation near 12% when he left.
• The Banking Act of 1935, largely drafted by Marriner Eccles, created the modern FOMC structure: 7 governors and 12 regional bank presidents, who met for the first time in this form in March 1936.
• The Fed's independence from financing public debt, still in effect today, dates back to the Treasury-Fed Accord of March 3, 1951.
• The historic peak in the policy rate remains the Volcker era: roughly 20% in June 1981, versus 3.50-3.75% today.
• The explicit 2% inflation target, now the compass for every market commentary, wasn't formally adopted until January 2012, under Ben Bernanke.
• Janet Yellen was the first woman to lead the Fed (2014-2018), before becoming the first female US Treasury Secretary (2021-2025).
• Kevin Warsh, the 17th and current chair, has held office since May 22, 2026; his Senate confirmation (54 votes to 45) remains the most divisive vote in the history of the role.

The 17 Fed Chairs at a Glance

1914-1929: Origins and the Roaring Twenties

The Federal Reserve was born with the Federal Reserve Act, but it took until August 10, 1914 for Charles Sumner Hamlin, appointed by Woodrow Wilson, to become the institution's very first chair. His term, which ended on August 9, 1916, coincided with the outbreak of World War I in Europe: US inflation climbed from roughly 3% to 7.9% over the period, with the young central bank discovering firsthand the tensions between war financing and price stability.

William P. G. Harding succeeded him on August 10, 1916 and led the Board through the entire war and its immediate aftermath, until August 9, 1922. He combined this role with chairing the War Finance Corporation between 1918 and 1919, the body responsible for financing the US war effort — a blurring of lines between monetary policy and public financing that would no longer exist after 1951.

After a year-long vacancy, Daniel R. Crissinger, appointed by Warren G. Harding, took the helm of the Fed on May 1, 1923 and held it until September 15, 1927. His term coincided with the stock market boom of the "Roaring Twenties": the Dow Jones more than doubled (+104%) over the period, fueled by an easy-credit policy the Fed made no effort to rein in. His successor, Roy A. Young, appointed by Calvin Coolidge, led the institution from October 4, 1927 to August 31, 1930: his term ended with the Wall Street crash of October 1929, the starting point of the Great Depression.

1930-1934: The Great Depression

Eugene Meyer, appointed by Herbert Hoover, took the chair on September 16, 1930, in the middle of the economic collapse. In 1932 he created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, designed to support struggling banks and businesses, but his record at the head of the Fed is still seen as mixed: several historians believe the monetary policy pursued during this period worsened the crisis rather than cushioning it, by letting the money supply contract while thousands of banks failed. Meyer left office on May 10, 1933.

Eugene R. Black, appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, succeeded him for a very short term, from May 19, 1933 to August 15, 1934: a quick transition, amid the overhaul of the US banking system under the first New Deal laws.

1934-1951: Eccles and the Founding of the Modern FOMC

Marriner S. Eccles, appointed by Roosevelt, took the chair on November 15, 1934 and held it until January 31, 1948 — a term of more than 13 years that permanently transformed the institution. Eccles was largely the author of the Banking Act of 1935, which centralized monetary policy power in the hands of the Board in Washington and gave the FOMC its modern structure: 7 governors and 12 regional bank presidents, who met for the first time in this form in March 1936, as detailed in the reference essay from Federal Reserve History devoted to the committee. His approach, close to early Keynesianism, held that monetary policy should actively support recovery during recessions — a clean break from the orthodoxy of his predecessors.

Thomas B. McCabe, appointed by Harry Truman, led the Fed from April 15, 1948 to March 31, 1951. His term was marked by an open conflict between the Fed and the Treasury over the level of rates, with the Treasury wanting to keep them low to ease the financing of the public debt inherited from the war. This standoff was resolved by the Treasury-Fed Accord of March 3, 1951, which ended the Fed's obligation to support government borrowing and founded the institution's modern independence from political power.

1951-1970: Martin and the "Punch Bowl"

William McChesney Martin took the chair on April 2, 1951, appointed by Truman, and held it until January 31, 1970: 18 years and 9 months, the longest term in Fed history, spanning four successive US presidents — Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Martin remains linked to the most quoted line in central-banking history: in an October 19, 1955 speech, he compared the central banker's role to someone who must "take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going," meaning tightening monetary policy before overheating sets in, rather than waiting until the excesses are visible to everyone.

Under his tenure, inflation stayed under control, averaging below 2% throughout the 1950s. But the late 1960s saw the first signs of inflation getting out of hand, fueled by the simultaneous financing of the Vietnam War and the "Great Society" social programs: a situation Martin handed to his successor without having fully contained it.

1970-1979: Burns, Miller, and the Great Inflation

Arthur F. Burns, appointed by Richard Nixon and then reappointed by Gerald Ford, led the Fed from February 1, 1970 to January 31, 1978. His term marks the true starting point of what economists call the American "Great Inflation" (1965-1982): a so-called "stop-go" policy, alternating timid tightening with premature easing, judged in hindsight to have been far too lax. Burns also faced direct political pressure from Nixon in 1971-1972, pushing him to loosen monetary policy ahead of the president's re-election. Several economists now retrospectively rank Burns as the worst chair in Fed history.

G. William Miller, appointed by Jimmy Carter, succeeded him on March 8, 1978 for the shortest term in the institution's modern history: just 17 months, until August 6, 1979. Inflation was then brushing 12% on an annualized basis. Faced with the emergency, Carter moved Miller to the Treasury and replaced him at the head of the Fed with a certain Paul Volcker — a decision that would change the course of American monetary history.

1979-1987: Paul Volcker and the Anti-Inflation Shock

Appointed by Jimmy Carter on August 6, 1979 and reappointed by Ronald Reagan, Paul Volcker inherited inflation near 12% and Fed credibility at rock bottom. His response went down in history as the "Volcker shock": he raised the policy rate to a peak of roughly 20% in June 1981, a level held at 19% until July 1981 — a tightening of a severity never seen before or since in the history of the American central bank.

The price paid was immediate and painful: the recession that stretched from July 1981 to November 1982 pushed unemployment up to 10.8% by the end of 1982, its highest level since the Great Depression. Volcker faced criticism of rare intensity, including from within Congress itself. But the result was there: American inflation, which had seemed deeply entrenched in mindsets and wage negotiations, was beaten for good. His term ended on August 11, 1987, leaving his successor a healthier economy but a lasting lesson: a central bank's anti-inflation credibility is earned at a steep price and lost very quickly.

1987-2006: Alan Greenspan, "the Maestro"

Appointed by Reagan and then reappointed successively by George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton — a rare instance of a Democratic president reappointing a chair named by a Republican — and George W. Bush, Alan Greenspan held the chair from August 11, 1987 to January 31, 2006: the second-longest term in history, marked by a string of moments that shaped modern central-bank communication.

Just two months after taking office, the "Black Monday" crash of October 19, 1987 sent the Dow Jones down 22.6% in a single session. Greenspan responded with a one-sentence statement guaranteeing the Fed's liquidity to support the financial system: the origin of what markets would come to call the "Greenspan put," the idea that a Fed intervention would always cushion the most severe market drops. In 1994, he led a spectacular preemptive tightening: the policy rate doubled, from 3% to 6%, within a year, even before any tangible signs of inflation appeared — a shock that triggered the "bond market massacre" of 1994 across global rate markets.

On December 5, 1996, his speech on "irrational exuberance" — the irrational exuberance of markets — publicly questioned the valuation of the nascent internet bubble: the Tokyo stock exchange fell within the hour. After the dot-com bubble burst and the September 11 attacks, Greenspan brought rates down from 6.5% to 1% between 2000 and 2003, a level — the lowest in 45 years — held until June 2004. In hindsight, this prolonged low-rate policy would be singled out as one of the factors that fed the American housing bubble, whose collapse would trigger the 2008 financial crisis.

Nicknamed "the Maestro" for his perceived mastery of the economic cycle, Alan Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 100, from complications related to Parkinson's disease — a recent loss that has marked the entire global financial community.

To go further: the full biography of Alan Greenspan.

2006-2014: Ben Bernanke and the Response to the 2008 Crisis

An academic already recognized as a leading expert on the Great Depression before his appointment, Ben Bernanke was appointed by George W. Bush and reappointed by Barack Obama, holding the chair from February 1, 2006 to January 31, 2014. His nickname, "Helicopter Ben," dates back to a November 21, 2002 speech on fighting deflation — long before he took the helm of the institution.

Facing the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bernanke cut the policy rate to 0-0.25% by December 2008 and launched, on November 25, 2008, the first large-scale asset-purchase program in Fed history: QE1, worth up to $600 billion. QE2 followed ($600 billion, November 2010), then QE3, an open-ended program of $40 billion in monthly purchases of mortgage-backed securities launched in September 2012. In January 2012, the Fed adopted an explicit 2% inflation target for the first time, which has since become the official compass for all American monetary policy.

On May 22, 2013, by mentioning before Congress a possible slowdown in QE, Bernanke triggered the "taper tantrum": the yield on the US 10-year jumped from 1.94% to 2.96% within a few months, shocking emerging markets. Bernanke would go on to receive, in October 2022, the Nobel Prize in Economics — as a co-laureate — for his work on the role of banking crises in economic recessions.

To go further: the full biography of Ben Bernanke.

2014-2018: Janet Yellen, the First Woman to Lead the Fed

Appointed by Barack Obama, Janet Yellen became, on February 3, 2014, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, a role she held until February 3, 2018. Her term was that of the exit from crisis: after years of near-zero rates, she led the first rate hike since the financial crisis, on December 16, 2015 — the famous "liftoff" — moving the range from 0-0.25% to 0.25-0.50%, the first American monetary tightening since June 2006.

On the hawk/dove scale, Yellen sits firmly on the dove side: she favors a pragmatic approach, grounded in empirical labor-economics research rather than rigid rules. After leaving the Fed, she was appointed Treasury Secretary by Joe Biden and held that post from 2021 to 2025: she thus became the first woman to have led both the Fed and the US Treasury, a unique double in the country's economic history.

To go further: the full biography of Janet Yellen.

2018-2026: Jerome Powell, From Covid to the Return of Inflation

Appointed chair by Donald Trump in 2017 and then reappointed by Joe Biden in 2022, Jerome Powell led the Fed from February 5, 2018 to May 22, 2026 — a term marked by two major economic shocks. Facing the Covid-19 pandemic, he urgently cut the policy rate to 0-0.25% by March 15, 2020, accompanied by a $700 billion asset-purchase program — the institution's fastest-ever response to a crisis.

In late November 2021, Powell publicly acknowledged it was time to retire the word "transitory" for describing inflation, paving the way for the fastest tightening cycle since Volcker: 11 rate hikes since March 2022, up to a range of 5.25-5.50% reached on July 27, 2023, its highest level in 22 years. Cuts then gradually resumed: the rate came back down to 4.25-4.50% in December 2024, then to 3.50-3.75% in December 2025 after three successive cuts over the year.

His term as chair officially ended on May 15, 2026, but Powell served an unprecedented interim role as "chair pro tempore" until May 22, 2026, until his successor was sworn in — an institutional first with no recent precedent. Powell also remained a Fed governor after stepping down as chair, an extremely rare situation whose last example dates back to Marriner Eccles in 1948.

To go further: the full biography of Jerome Powell.

Since 2026: Kevin Warsh, the 17th Chair

Announced by Donald Trump on January 30, 2026, Kevin Warsh is no stranger to the institution: a Fed governor between 2006 and 2011 under appointment by George W. Bush, he had resigned in disagreement with Bernanke's launch of QE2. His Senate confirmation, on May 13, 2026, came down to a vote of 54 to 45 — the most divisive and partisan vote in history for the nomination of a Fed chair. He was sworn in at the White House on May 22, 2026, becoming the institution's 17th chair since its founding, as formalized by the Fed's official press release published that same day.

His first FOMC meeting as chair, on June 17, 2026, ended in a hold at 3.50-3.75%, but with a noticeably shortened statement and a partial departure from the usual forward guidance — a change in style immediately noticed by markets. At the meeting of July 28-29, 2026, the hold was maintained, but the vote was split this time 9 to 3, with three dissenting members calling for an immediate hike. His speech at Jackson Hole on August 28, 2026 was judged notably more hawkish than most market economists had expected.

The FOMC is meeting today, September 15-16, 2026, for its first post-summer decision under the Warsh chairmanship: the verdict is expected tonight at 2 p.m. ET (8 p.m. in Paris). On the eve of the meeting, market consensus put the probability of a hike in the policy rate to 3.75-4.00% at 91 to 93%, which would mark the first hike since July 2023. This guide will be updated as soon as the decision is officially released.

To go further: the full biography of Kevin Warsh.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many chairs has the Fed had since its founding?

17 chairs have led the institution since Charles Hamlin's appointment in August 1914, the most recent being Kevin Warsh, who took office on May 22, 2026.

Who was the longest-serving chair of the Fed?

William McChesney Martin holds the record with 18 years and 9 months at the head of the institution, from 1951 to 1970, under four successive US presidents.

What was the shortest term in Fed history?

G. William Miller stayed in office for only 17 months, from March 1978 to August 1979, before being moved to the Treasury by Jimmy Carter amid a full-blown inflation surge.

Why did the policy rate reach roughly 20% under Paul Volcker?

Facing inflation near 12%, Volcker deliberately pushed rates to a peak of roughly 20% in June 1981 to durably break inflation expectations, at the cost of a severe recession and unemployment at 10.8% by the end of 1982.

Who is the current chair of the Fed?

Kevin Warsh, the 17th chair in the institution's history, has been in office since May 22, 2026, after a Senate confirmation by a vote of 54 to 45.

What is the Banking Act of 1935, and why does it matter so much?

Largely drafted by Marriner Eccles, this law created the modern FOMC structure, with 7 governors and 12 regional bank presidents, who met for the first time in this form in March 1936.

Who was the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve?

Janet Yellen, chair from 2014 to 2018, was the first woman to hold this position, before also becoming the first female US Treasury Secretary between 2021 and 2025.

What is the 1951 Treasury-Fed Accord?

Signed on March 3, 1951 under Thomas McCabe's chairmanship, this accord ended the Fed's obligation to artificially support government borrowing, founding the modern independence of the American central bank.