Which U.S. secretary of the interior was convicted in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal?

Albert B. Fall was the U.S. secretary of the interior convicted in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal.

Fall secretly leased federal oil reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and at Elk Hills in California to private oil companies. The agreements were made without competitive bidding, and Fall received loans and gifts from businessmen connected with the leases.

The Senate investigation began in 1922 after concerns about the secret deals became public. The Supreme Court later ruled that the leases were improperly awarded and ordered the reserves returned to the federal government.

Fall resigned from office in 1923. In 1929, he became the first former U.S. cabinet secretary convicted of a felony committed in office. He was found guilty of accepting bribes and served time in prison. The scandal damaged President Warren G. Harding’s administration, although Harding himself died before the investigation concluded.