27 Facts About Dan Noble

Dan Noble, known as Daniel Dyson, was an English gentleman burglar, confidence man, sneak thief and pickpocket active in the United States during the mid-to late 19th century.

Dan Noble was born in England and immigrated to the United States in 1857, when not yet properly into his teens.

Dan Noble's parents followed shortly after and his father opened a porterhouse on the corner of Twenty-Fourth Street and Ninth Avenue.

Dan Noble continued to be involved in burglary, but eventually became a butcher as he reached adulthood.

Dan Noble felt more comfortable as a pickpocket apparently believing the activity to require less skill and provided lower risk for arrest.

Dan Noble typically targeted young women, as well as men on occasion.

Dan Noble was released on these two occasions but was sentenced to six months at Blackwell's Island.

Dan Noble later headed a group of sneak thieves including Jimmy Griffin, Frank Knapp and Jack Tierney, whose activities he planned and financed.

Dan Noble operated with a great deal of cooperation from the New York Police Department, reportedly having as many as 30 police officers on his payroll, until his eventual arrest.

Dan Noble ran a faro house on Broadway during the American Civil War, as well a faro bank with Charles Brockway.

Dan Noble intended to return to Washington, DC that same night or early the next morning however, while wandering around the rotunda and public rooms of the hotel Pinkerton was approached by two men.

Dan Noble convinced the men that he was an army contractor, in town to buy a thousand cavalry horses, and implied that he was carrying a considerable sum.

Dan Noble eventually announced that was leaving, claiming that he did not understand the games, to which the dealers protested including Noble.

Dan Noble hesitantly agreed; however, he soon became suspicious demanding to know his identity.

Pinkerton obliged Dan Noble by identifying he and others in the room as gamblers, swindlers and other criminals.

When Dan Noble then asked if Pinkerton was after him or anyone else, Pinkerton replied he had not and casually dismissed himself to the astonishment of the crowd.

Dan Noble then explained that he and several others were preparing to go down the Mississippi River to New Orleans on business for their respective companies and were interested in obtaining life insurance during their extended trip to the South.

Dan Noble himself was in favor of getting life insurance as he claimed to be a married man.

Dan Noble's companion commented occasionally and supported his claim that the young man had been appointed the group's spokesman and would negotiate the terms of the policies.

Dan Noble returned to the office where he casually informed his friend that he would have to leave or would miss an important appointment.

Dan Noble returned to the office, with the box hidden under his overcoat, and said he had to go out for a few minutes.

Dan Noble eluded authorities for over four years until his arrest and conviction in Oswego, New York in February 1871.

Dan Noble was sentenced to ten years imprisonment at Sing Sing but escaped after serving less than a year.

Dan Noble fled to England soon after where he was largely associated with "sporting swells".

Dan Noble visited France for a brief time, on the Paris Bourse in 1873, he was caught attempting to rob a broker's office and sentenced to five years penal servitude.

Dan Noble eventually moved back to England where he was eventually convicted for forgery, arrested after attempting to use bank notes printed by forger George Engles at a London bank, and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment.

Dan Noble served roughly half of his term, his health failing in his old age, and died in prison.