Skip to main content

Aaron Noble

Senior Historian and Curator, Political and Military History
518-474-0437

B.A., History, 2002, Union College
M.A., Public History, 2004, University at Albany

My areas of research and collection primarily focus on the political, governmental, and military history of New York State and its citizenry, and how that history impacts the broader historical narrative. Currently, much of my research is concentrated on the World War I era as the museum prepares to commemorate the centennial anniversary of America’s entry into the conflict in 2017. This research examines the pivotal role that New Yorkers played in all facets of the conflict – as soldiers, in industry, charity and civic participation. Rather than rehashing a blow-by-blow history of the battles of the Great War, my research is focused on those individual New Yorkers from all across the state, from a variety of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, and interpreting their wartime experiences to the public. This study will emphasize that New York, as one of the most populous, industrialized, and wealthy states in the nation in 1917, played a crucial role in the American war effort, and that the legacy of this participation resonates to the present day.

Publications

2024

A. Noble 2024, American Relics and the Politics of Public Memory by Matthew Dennis (review), New York History 105, 376 - 378. 10.1353/nyh.2024.a951720
A. Noble 2024, Henry Johnson: Ballad of a Forgotten Hero by Rachel Lynett (review), New York History 104, 210 - 213. 10.1353/nyh.2024.a934344

2023

A. Noble 2023, Terrorism in American Memory: Memorials, Museums, and Architecture in the Post-9/11 Era by Marita Sturken (review), New York History 104, 453-455. 10.1353/nyh.2023.a918286
A. Noble 2023, A Well Regulated Militia: Citizen, Soldier, and State (review), New York History 104, 236-240. 10.1353/nyh.2023.a902929

2021

A. Noble 2021, Seeking Truth in the Attica Collection, New York History 102, 47-51. 10.1353/nyh.2021.0032

2017

A. Noble, Keith Swaney, Vicki Weiss 2017, A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany
A. Noble, Keith Swaney, Vicki Weiss 2017, A Spirit of Sacrifice: New York State in the First World War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany

2014

R. Weible, J. Lemak, A. Noble 2014, An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York
R. Weible, J. Lemak, A. Noble 2014, An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War, Excelsior Editions State University of New York Press, Albany, New York

2010

A. Noble 2010, Citizen Soldier: New York’s National Guard in the American Century. Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum 5, 4