| Post: | Director |
| Body: | the U.S. Geological Survey |
| Incumbent: | David Applegate |
| Incumbentsince: | August 15, 2022 |
| Department: | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Reports To: | Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior |
| Appointer: | President of the United States |
| Appointer Qualified: | with advice and consent of the Senate[1] |
The director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is responsible for direction and leadership of the agency.[2] Within the director's office are the deputy director, who assists the director in coordination of the USGS; and eight associate directors, each overseeing a particular program, who report to the director.[3] The director is typically sworn in by the Secretary of the Interior—for example, Bruce Babbitt swore in Charles Groat,[4] and Deb Haaland swore in David Applegate.[5]
The U.S. Geological Survey was established in 1879 by an act of Congress. Clarence King was appointed as the first director.[6] King was picked because he was the leader of a USGS predecessor survey.[7]
Later, in 2018, during the confirmation of James Reilly at a hearing with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the committee emphasized the fact that the appointee would have to protect scientific integrity within the USGS. This was a new theme, stemming from concerns over other people nominated to positions by President Trump.[8] It was also noted that Trump had taken more than a year to announce Reilley's nomination, which was noted by The Washington Post as a departure from the usual time a president would take to nominate someone for the role.[9]
| 1 | Clarence King | 1879–1881 | ||
| 2 | John Wesley Powell | 1881–1894 | ||
| 3 | Charles Doolittle Walcott | 1894–1907 | ||
| 4 | George Otis Smith | 1907–1930 | ||
| 5 | Walter Curran Mendenhall | 1930–1943 | ||
| 6 | William Embry Wrather | 1943–1956 | ||
| 7 | Thomas Brennan Nolan | 1956–1965 | ||
| 8 | William Thomas Pecora | 1965–1971 | ||
| 9 | Vincent Ellis McKelvey | 1971–1978 | ||
| 10 | Henry William Menard | 1978–1981 | ||
| 11 | Dallas Lynn Peck | 1981–1993 | ||
| 12 | Gordon P. Eaton | 1994–1997 | ||
| 13 | Charles G. Groat | 1998–2005 | ||
| 14 | Mark Myers | 2006–2009 | ||
| 15 | Marcia K. McNutt | 2009–2013 | ||
| 16 | Suzette Kimball | 2015–2017 | ||
| 17 | Jim Reilly | 2018–2021 | ||
| 18 | David Applegate | 2022–present |