John Willock Noble (October 26, 1831 – March 22, 1912) was a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

lawyer and

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He served as the

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

between 1889 and 1893.

Early life and education

He was born in

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, in the south-central part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,552. The city is near the Hocking River, about southeast of Columbus and southwest of Zanesville. It is ...

on October 26, 1831. Early on he studied in Cincinnati and Columbus, then attended Miami University and Yale. In 1851, he graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

with honors. He then studied law at

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Career

Law and Civil War

After he graduated from Yale, he went to study law. He first studied law in the office of his brother and that who Attorney General Henry Stanberry. Noble settled in St. Louis in 1855, and the next year moved to

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

to look for better prospects n the practice of his profession. There he took a prominent part in politics. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was city attorney for Keokuk, which position he had assumed in 1859. After the outbreak of the American Civil War Noble was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment in September 1861. He rose through the ranks and became the regiment's commander with the rank of colonel in June 1864. At the war's end he received a brevet (honorary promotion) to brigadier general and was mustered out of service in August 1865.

After the war

After the war, he became a companion of the Missouri Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

, a military society of officers of the Union armed forces and their descendants. He settled in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

after the Civil War, and was recommended by Stanberry to be US District Attorney. Overall, he was appointed

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of Missouri from 1867 to 1870. He resigned from that role in 1870, and began again practicing law. The

St. Louis Mining and Stock Exchange The St. Louis Mining and Stock Exchange was an American regional stock exchange. It formed in St. Louis, Missouri on December 2, 1880. It closed in 1893 during a financial depression. History The St. Louis Mining Exchange was formed in 1874. Loc ...

was formed in St. Louis in the fall of 1880 with Noble as a founding member.

Secretary of the Interior and retirement

He served as the

*Interior ministry ...

between 1889 and 1893. A college friend of

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, Noble was invited by Harrison to be in his cabinet as Secretary of the Interior. Noble served as Secretary of the Interior throughout the entire Harrison administration. Under his watch as Secretary of the Interior, the

Cherokee Commission The Cherokee Commission, was a three-person bi-partisan body created by President Benjamin Harrison to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, as empowered by Section 14 of the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889. Se ...

negotiated eleven agreements that removed nineteen indigenous tribes to small allotments in the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

, while opening the land to homesteaders. After retiring from the Interior, he began practicing law in St. Louis until his death. Two days after Noble's death, on March 23, 1912,

Robert Underwood Johnson Robert Underwood Johnson (January 12, 1853 – October 14, 1937) was an American writer, poet, and diplomat. Biography Robert Underwood Johnson was born in Centerville, Indiana, on January 12, 1853. His brother Henry Underwood Johnson b ...

wrote to ''

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'' with a letter describing Noble as a pioneer of the

conservation movement The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

in the United States. Johnson cited his work with the Interior under President Harrison, in which Noble originated the forest reservation policy, leading to reserves being proclaimed in the great Sierra Reserve and the Arizona Canyon Reserve, made possible by legislation on March 3, 1891, which Noble initiated.

Personal life

He and his wife Lizabeth Halstead married in 1864, and she died in 1894. On March 21, 1912, it was reported that he was dying at his home from a weakening heart. He died on March 22, 1912. As of his death, he was still a resident of St. Louis. He was buried at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the ...

Namesakes

Noble County, Oklahoma Noble County is located in the north central part of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,561. Its county seat is Perry. It was part of the Cherokee Outlet in Indian Territory until Oklahoma Territory was created in 1890, and ...

was named for him in 1893,Everett, Dianna. ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. "Noble County."
Retrieved October 3, 2013. and the "General Noble" Giant Sequoia was also named for Noble.