Washington National Cathedral

Long associated with the College of Preachers, Noble Powell (1891–1968) had been rector of Emmanuel Church in Baltimore for a decade when he was elected concurrently warden of the College of Preachers and dean of the Cathedral in 1937. Powell, a native of Alabama, was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1917 and from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1920. He returned to the University of Virginia where he served students for a decade as Chaplain and rector of St. Paul’s Memorial Church. Marked early in his career as an able administrator, he was nominated twice as bishop coadjutor before coming to Washington National Cathedral. In December 1940, he officiated at the State Funeral for Lord Lothian (Philip Kerr), Great Britain’s influential Ambassador to the United States. After just four years, Dean Powell accepted his election as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Maryland in May 1941 and resigned as dean two days before his consecration. He became the ninth Bishop of Maryland in 1943 and served until 1963.