This is a list of masters of Downing College, Cambridge. The head of Downing College, Cambridge is termed the "Master". Downing was founded as a result of the will of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet and it received its Royal Charter in 1800 from George III.
The current Master is Graham Virgo.[1]
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Annesley | 22 September 1800 | 17 April 1812† | ||
| William Frere | 8 May 1812 | 25 May 1836† | ||
| Thomas Worsley | 23 June 1836 | 16 February 1885† | ||
| William Lloyd Birkbeck | 1 March 1885 | 25 May 1888† | ||
| Alexander Hill | 16 June 1888 | 1907 | ||
| Frederick Howard Marsh | 24 October 1907 | 24 June 1915† | ||
| Sir Albert Seward | 2 August 1915 | 1936 | ||
| Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond | 1 November 1936 | 15 December 1946† | ||
| Sir Lionel Whitby | 22 May 1947 | 24 November 1956† | ||
| William Keith Chambers Guthrie | 28 April 1957 | 1972 | ||
| Sir Morien Morgan | 1972 | 4 April 1978† | ||
| Sir John Butterfield | 1978 | 1987 | ||
| Peter Mathias | 1987 | 1995 | ||
| Sir David King | 1995 | 2000 | ||
| Stephen Fleet | 2001 | 2003 | ||
| Barry Everitt | 2003 | 2013 | ||
| Geoffrey Grimmett | 2013 | 2018 | ||
| Alan Bookbinder[2] | 2018 | 2023 | ||
| Graham Virgo | 2023 | |||