Notable people · Publisher · Judge · Pioneer
Calvin L. Noble
A printer and pioneer official who is credited with founding the Cleveland Advertiser, the newspaper that dropped the extra 'a' from Cleaveland. He later served as Paulding County's probate judge and died in Paulding.
At a glance
- Born
- 1813-10-13
- Died
- 1889-04-10
- Known as
- Publisher, Judge, Pioneer
- Organizations
- Cleveland Advertiser, American Fur Company
Life story
Calvin L. Noble was born in Trumbull County in 1813. At 17 he founded the Cleveland Advertiser newspaper in 1830.
The story told about him is that his headline type was too wide, so he left out one letter and Cleaveland became Cleveland. Historians describe it as a myth: Cleveland Magazine quotes historian John Grabowski saying the paper's first issue ran a note calling the second 'a' superfluous, and some of Moses Cleaveland's own surveyors had skipped the letter on maps in the 1790s. Other local papers followed within a year.
He moved to Fort Defiance in 1833 and worked as a fur buyer for the American Fur Company and as a land agent. He was the first sheriff of Defiance County, a founder of Bryan, a member of the Ohio House, and collector of canal leases for 12 years. In 1858 he moved to Paulding County and served as probate judge. He died in Paulding in 1889.
Timeline
- 1813-10-13: Born in Trumbull County (Trumbull County, OH) source
- 1830: Founds the Cleveland Advertiser at 17 (sources give 1830 or 1831) (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1833-09: Moves to Fort Defiance (Defiance, OH) source
- 1842: Marries (spouse not named in the source) source
- 1858: Moves to Paulding County; serves as probate judge (Paulding, OH) source
- 1889-04-10: Dies of heart disease in Paulding (Paulding, OH) source
What Calvin is known for
- Founded the Cleveland Advertiser (1830)
- Founder of Bryan, Ohio
- First sheriff of Defiance County
- Probate judge of Paulding County
- Cleveland Advertiser (newspaper, 1830)
- Founded Bryan, Ohio
Ohio places
Where Calvin L. Noble was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Trumbull County, Trumbull County Trumbull County
- Lived: Paulding, Paulding County ZIP 45879 · Paulding · Paulding County
- Worked: Fort Defiance, Defiance County ZIP 43512 · Defiance County
Myths and corrections
- The tale that the paper dropped the 'a' because the name did not fit its masthead is told widely, but historians cited by Cleveland Magazine and Wikipedia's Cleveland article call it a myth.
- Disputed: Cleveland was named for Moses Cleaveland and was spelled Cleaveland at first. Noble's newspaper is said to have dropped the 'a' because the name did not fit its headline. Cleveland Magazine, quoting historian John Grabowski, says the paper's first issue instead printed a note calling the second 'a' superfluous, and Wikipedia's Cleveland article calls the masthead story a myth and notes some of Cleaveland's original surveyors had already shortened the name. Sources give the paper's founding as 1830 or 1831.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Calvin L. Noble birth/death; Cleveland Advertiser 1830 spelling story; Fort Defiance 1833; Paulding County 1858; offices
- Cleveland Magazine: CLE Myths, the A in Cleaveland Advertiser first issue note calling the second 'a' superfluous; other papers followed
- Wikipedia: Cleveland masthead story called a myth; surveyors shortened name