Samuel Nowlein (April 3, 1851 – December 5, 1905) was a Native Hawaiian Colonel who was a monarchist and known for organizing the 1895 Wilcox rebellion against the Republic of Hawaii before being caught and arrested during the rebellion.

Nowlein was born on April 3, 1851, as the son of Michael James Nowlien who was of British origin and Akela Kaliko Kupanaha who was of Native Hawaiian origin.

[1] Nowlein was a member of the Royal Guards of Hawaii with the oldest documented instance of his service being since 1885.

[2] Nowlein served as Captain of the Royal Guards of Hawaii[3] and during his time there, Nowlein along with figures like Robert William Wilcox and Charles Burnett Wilson, planned to launch a coup to overthrow Kalākaua and replace him with Liliʻuokalani but the plot never came to fruition as it was accidentally discovered in January 1888.

[4] Despite this however, he remained as a member of the Royal Guards until the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in which, Nowlein raised a total of 496 soldiers to defend the Queen after negotiations had failed with Lorrin A.