Postal Facts - U.S. Postal Service
For some, the Postal Service has served as an interim stop on the way to greater fame. Most people know that Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln worked for the Postal Service, but did you know that Morgan Freeman and Steve Carrell did, too? For a few — such as Fred
Lindstrom and Harry Hooper — fame preceded their postal careers.
See the list of famous names for yourself at about.usps.com/who/profile/history/personnel.htm.
David Steiner is the 76th Postmaster General of the United States and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Postal Service. He began his tenure July 15, 2025.
The strength of the Postal Service lies in its amazing diversity. Our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.
Link, a daily news site for Postal Service employees, is available on any computer with internet access. The content is produced by a team of writers and editors based at USPS Headquarters in Washington, DC. Additional contributions come from postal employees across the nation.
The site is updated with new articles, photos, graphics and videos each weekday.
Heads of industry. Hollywood legends. Sports heroes. Singers. Painters. Writers. And a couple presidents. All were postal employees before they became household names! Sixteen have even had their image or work featured on stamps.
We're patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.
Women served as postmasters in this country more than a century before they won the right to vote.
1860
African American postmasters
African Americans worked as postmasters, clerks and carriers beginning in the 1860s — 100 years before the Civil Rights Movement brought about wider opportunity in the American workplace.
The first known female postmaster in the United Colonies was Mary Katharine Goddard in Baltimore in 1775.
1ST KNOWN
female mail carrier
The first known female mail carrier was Sarah Black, who worked as a mail messenger in Charlestown, MD, in 1845.
1ST KNOWN
African American postmaster
The first known African American postmaster was James W. Mason in Sunny Side, AR, in 1867.
1ST KNOWN
African American carrier
The first known African American mail carrier was James B. Christian in Richmond, VA, in 1869.
1ST AMERICAN
woman on a stamp
The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington in 1902.
1ST AFRICAN
American postal inspector
The first known African American postal inspector was Isaac Myers in Baltimore in 1870.
1ST HISPANIC
American on a stamp
The first Hispanic American on a stamp was U.S. Navy Adm. David Farragut in 1903.
1ST NATIVE
American on a stamp
The first Native American on a stamp was Pocahontas in 1907.
1ST AFRICAN
American on a stamp
The first African American on a stamp was educator, author and orator Booker T. Washington in 1940.
1ST FEMALE
postmaster general
The first female postmaster general was Megan J. Brennan, Washington, DC, 2015. Brennan's tenure was Feb. 1, 2015 – June 15, 2020.
John Prine, singer and songwriter, was a letter carrier in Maywood, IL, 1964-1969.
It’s not just any letter or package. It’s a picture of the kids. It’s a handmade scarf. It’s a favorite candy bar. It’s a pair of socks. It’s a piece of home. The Postal Service helps make sure these very special letters and packages make it to those who serve in the military — and their families with them — wherever they are around the globe.
USPS
Postal
Vehicle Service Operations
Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) operations include more than 12,000 uniformed motor vehicle and tractor-trailer operators. The PVS fleet includes 98 sprinter vans, 2,202 cargo vans, 2,364 tractors and
nearly 7,351 trailers. Commuting within a 170-mile radius of their facility, PVS drivers traveled more than 184 million miles last year.
The strength of the Postal Service lies in its amazing diversity. Our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.
USPS
WE'RE
socially responsible
The Postal Service supports communities nationwide. These efforts include facilitating the nation’s largest one-day food drive, working with customers to prevent dog bites to mail carriers, educating customers on consumer protection and delivering holiday magic through USPS Operation Santa.
$2.1 billion
every two weeks
In 2024, the Postal Service paid $2.1 billion every two weeks in salaries and benefits.
JUDICIOUS
resolving disputes
The Postal Service's Judicial Officer Department is a court system that conducts hearings and neutrally resolves a wide variety of disputes involving postal matters. Its independent decisions involve contract disputes, employee debt disputes, mail disputes and mail fraud, among many other areas.
USPS
CONNECTING
USPS and mailers
Postal customer councils are Postal Service-affiliated networks connect business mailers with local Post Office leadership to develop more effective and profitable mailings through training and information
sharing. Since the 1960s, these councils have been the go-to local resource for helping mailers learn, innovate and build their business. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/pcc.
MAILERS
providing technical advice
The Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive their advice and recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/mtac.
The U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. Nope, it’s not this phrase: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But we certainly appreciate the sentiment.
The Postal Service traces its origin to 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first postmaster general of the United Colonies. His annual salary was $1,000. From 1872 to 1971, the postmaster general was a presidential Cabinet member.
The Military Postal Service was formed in 1980, consolidating the postal operations of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Department of Defense designated the Secretary of the Army as the single military mail manager.
The Postal Service offers a Military Care Kit to ship directly to Army/Air Post Office, Fleet Post Office and Diplomatic Post Office locations. The
kit contains Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, address labels, tape and customs forms. It can be ordered at no charge at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-610- 8734.
During National Consumer Protection Week, the Federal Trade Commission’s annual awareness campaign, USPS and the Inspection Service provide customers with education, tools and information to combat identity theft and mail fraud.
We’re patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.
The U.S. Postal Service is the core of the nation’s $1.9 trillion mailing industry, which employs more than 7.9 million people.
USPS
SOME HEROES
deliver the mail
We have heroes among us. Postal employees regularly go above and beyond to protect the lives of the people they serve, including elderly or disabled customers, through the Carrier Alert Program. In 2024, the Postal Service recognized 109 heroic employees through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program.
Approximately 6,450 carriers deliver mail entirely on foot — the USPS fleet of feet.
Mail is also delivered by bicycle on select routes in Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.
Trademarks
The Sonic Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, #PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Standard Mail®, The Postal Store®, United States Postal Inspection Service®, United States Postal Service®, U.S. Mail®, U.S. Postal Inspector™, U.S. Postal Service®, USPS®, USPS BlueEarth®, USPS Mobile®, USPS Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, How2Recycle®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2024 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, in a business, informational or academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
Produced by U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications
© 2024 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
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