John Flamsteed became the first Astronomer Royal when the Royal Greenwich Observatory was founded in 1675. The complete list of Astronomers Royal is given in the table below.
John Flamsteed 1675 - 1719 Edmond Halley 1720 - 1742 James Bradley 1742 - 1762 Nathaniel Bliss 1762 - 1764 Nevil Maskelyne 1765 - 1811 John Pond 1811 - 1835 George Biddell Airy 1835 - 1881 William H. M. Christie 1881 - 1910 Frank Watson Dyson 1910 - 1933 Harold Spencer Jones 1933 - 1955 Richard van der Riet Woolley 1956 - 1971 Martin Ryle 1972 - 1982 Francis Graham Smith 1982 - 1990 Arnold Wolfendale 1991 - 1995 Martin Rees 1995 -