Theodore W. Noyes

In 1877, at the age of 19, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree and began his career as a reporter for the Star, of which his father Crosby Noyes had become part owner and editor in chief in 1867.

He wrote a weekly column for the Sioux Falls Press, helped draft the plan for state government for the territory, and was elected county judge.

But instead of taking office, he returned to Washington in 1886 to accept an associate editor's post at the Star.

As editor of the Star, Noyes led a successful campaign to forbid the use of trolley poles to power electric streetcars within the District of Columbia, deeming overhead wires aesthetically unacceptable.

In 1889, Congress passed a law requiring streetcar companies in the District to replace horsecars with electrical systems that did not use overhead wires.