List of sea captains

This is a list of sea captains, which lists notable naval officers and includes anyone who does not qualify for the list of naval commanders.


 * William Adams (sailor), was an English navigator who went to Japan and is believed to be the first Briton ever to reach Japan.
 * Leroy J. Alexanderson, the last captain of the SS United States, the biggest ocean liner ever built in the United States and the fastest ocean liner in history
 * Kosaku Ariga (1897-1945), Japan
 * William Bainbridge (1774-1833), United States
 * Robert Barclay (1785-1833), Great Britain
 * Joshua Barney (1759-1818), United States
 * James Barron (1768-1851), United States
 * Samuel Barron (1809-1888), Confederate
 * John Barry (1845-1803), United States
 * Thomas Berwick, English merchant captain transported to Australia for the crime of scuttling his ship
 * Thomas Best (c. 1570- c. 1638), Great Britain
 * Prince Junio Valerio Borghese (1906/1912-1974), Italy
 * Franklin Buchanan (1800-1874), Confederate
 * Cornelius Scranton Bushnell, American railroad executive and shipbuilder who was instrumental in developing ironclad ships for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
 * Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese navigator and explorer, generally regarded as the European discoverer of the sea route to Brazil
 * Isaac Chauncey (1772-1840), American
 * Thomas Coram, philanthropic sea captain founded Foundling Hospital
 * William B. Cushing (1842-1874), American
 * Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento.
 * Stephen Decatur (1776-1820), American
 * Wilfred Dowman, Cutty Sark
 * George Duff, Mars
 * Kelly Faulkner, (1958-), American Royal Hawaiian Catamaran
 * Charles Fryatt, (1871–1916), British, executed as a franc-tireur in 1916 by the Germans.
 * Mitsuo Fuchida (1902-1976), Japanese
 * [Christopher] Cristovao da Gama (1516-1542), Portuguese
 * Minoru Genda (1904-1989), Japanese
 * Edgar Gold, an Australian-Canadian lawyer, author, academic, and Master Mariner
 * Manuel F. Gomes (1898-1906), Portuguese
 * Richard Hall Gower, an English mariner, empirical philosopher, nautical inventor, entrepreneur, and humanitarian
 * Robert Halpin (1836-1894), Irish
 * Tameichi Hara (1900-), Japanese
 * Mochitsura Hashimoto (1909-), Japanese
 * Joseph Hazelwood, Exxon Valdez captain during its 1989 oil spill
 * Zheng He, a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral
 * Takeo Hirose (1868-1904), Japanese
 * Isaac Hull (1773-1843), American
 * Tota Ishimaru (1881-1942), Japanese
 * George Johnstone (1730-1787), British
 * Catesby ap Roger Jones (1821-1877), American
 * Thomas ap Catesby Jones (1790-1858), American
 * Awa Katsu [Kaishu, Hintaro, Yoshikuni] (1823-1899), Japanese
 * [Takaichi] Takakzu Kinashi (1902-1944), Japanese
 * William Le Lacheur, Guernsey Sea Captain who played an important role in the economic and spiritual development of Costa Rica.
 * William Ladd, American philanthropist and peace advocate
 * James Lawrence (1781-1813), American
 * Thomas MacDonough (1783-1825), American
 * Robert Maynard, British
 * Philo McGiffen (1860-1897), American (later in Chinese service)
 * William Nelson (1824-1862), American
 * Captain Bernard Peter de Neumann, GM, (1917-1972), British. 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.
 * Joe Niepsuj (1890-1963), Japan
 * Fred Noonan, sea captain and aviation pioneer
 * Sir Richard Pearson (1731-1806), British
 * Matthew Perry (1794-1858), American
 * Oliver Hazard Perry (1785-1819), American
 * David Porter (1780-1843), American
 * Edward Preble (1761-1807), American
 * Samuel Chester Reid (1783-1861), American
 * John Rodgers (1772-1838), American
 * Arthur Rostron, master of RMS Carpathia which rescued RMS Titanic survivors
 * Tsutomi Sakuma (1879-1910), Japanese
 * Isaac D. Seyburn, Welsh-American merchant captain and Civil War Naval Officer
 * Edward Hobart Seymour (1840-1929), British
 * Edward Smith, master of RMS Titanic
 * Robert Field Stockton (1795-1866), American
 * William Bevil Thomas prominent Newfoundland merchant, land developer and sea captain
 * Thomas Truxton (1755-1822), American
 * J. Angus Waters, Bluenose
 * Capt. Marty Welch (1864-1935), Canadian - American
 * Charles Wilkes (1798-1877), American
 * John Willis, Cutty Sark
 * Perry Winslow captain of the whaling vessel the Phoenix
 * Richard Woodget, English sea captain, known as the master of the famous sailing clipper Cutty Sark
 * John M Whitall, prominent sea captain, businessman and philanthropist in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was involved in the spice and silk trade, glass-making, and missionary work.
 * Robert J. Dodds, Famous English Sea Captain

Fictional sea captains

 * Captain Ahab, fictional hero of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick
 * John Blackthorne, fictional hero of James Clavell's 1975 novel Shogun
 * Captain Ned Dana, fictional master of the S.S. Balaska in The Dana Girls
 * Captain Englehorn, fictional captain in a number of King Kong pieces
 * Captain Gault, fictional sea captain created by English writer William Hope Hodgson
 * Captain Haddock, fictional character in the comic book series, The Adventures of Tintin
 * John Silas Huntly, fictional captain in The Survivors of the Chancellor
 * Captain Jat, fictional sea captain created by English writer William Hope Hodgson
 * Maak, fictional ship's captain in Maakies comic
 * Captain Horatio McCallister, a recurring character from the TV series The Simpsons.
 * Captain Ralls, fictional captain played by John Wayne in Wake of the Red Witch
 * Allan Thompson, fictional character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin
 * A minor character from Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights, a British sitcom.
 * Captain Jack Aubrey, fictional hero of the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian.