Originally a lawyer and a legislative administrator, Kimball spent his life creating and leading the Life-Saving Service, one of the predecessor services that eventually became the U.S. Coast Guard, transforming it from an uneven collection of facilities round the U.S. coastline into a coherent and well-trained organization.

[2] He became a clerk in the United States Treasury Department in 1862, and was placed in charge of the Revenue Marine Bureau there in 1871.

Under his direction, the Life-Saving Service was extended to the Pacific Coast and the Great Lakes.

They can perform a wide array of law enforcement duties, as well coastal defense and anti-terrorism if needed.

This biographical article related to the United States Coast Guard is a stub.