John Lowell (October 18, 1824 – May 14, 1897) was a

United States circuit judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. Su ...

of the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose Jurisdiction (area), territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth (U.S. state), C ...

Education and career

Born on October 18, 1824, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, Lowell received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1843 from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1845 from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He entered private practice in Boston from 1846 to 1865. He was editor of the ''Monthly Law Reporter'' from 1856 to 1860.

Federal judicial service

Lowell was nominated by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

on March 11, 1865, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Peleg Sprague. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on March 11, 1865, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on January 9, 1879, due to his elevation to the First Circuit. Lowell was nominated by President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

on December 16, 1878, to a seat on the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit vacated by Judge George Foster Shepley. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 1878, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on May 1, 1884, due to his resignation.

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Lowell resumed private practice in Boston from 1884 to 1897. He died on May 14, 1897, in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

Family

Boston-born Lowell was the son of

John Amory Lowell John Amory Lowell (November 11, 1798 – October 31, 1881) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Boston. He became the sole trustee of the Lowell Institute when his first cousin, John Lowell Jr. (1799–1836), the Institute's e ...

(1798–1881), the philanthropist, and his wife Susan Cabot Lowell (1801–1827). His parents were first cousins, both having as their paternal grandfather, Judge

John Lowell John Lowell (June 17, 1743 – May 6, 1802) was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, a judge of the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture under the Articles of Confederation, a United States district judge of the United States Distric ...

(1743–1802); Susan Cabot Lowell <

Francis Cabot Lowell Francis Cabot Lowell (April 7, 1775 – August 10, 1817) was an American businessman for whom the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named. He was instrumental in bringing the Industrial Revolution to the United States. Early life and education ...

< Judge John Lowell >

John Lowell Jr. (lawyer) John Lowell Jr. (October 6, 1769 – March 12, 1840) was an American lawyer and influential member of the Federalist Party in the early days of the United States of America. Career John Lowell Jr. was the son of John Lowell (1743–1802). He g ...

> John Amory Lowell. He was the father of James Arnold Lowell (1869-1933),James Arnold Lowell in the Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988
Accessed via ancestry.com paid subscription on 11 June 2023. and grandfather of

Ralph Lowell Major Ralph Lowell (July 23, 1890 – May 15, 1978) was a World War I veteran, banker, and philanthropist from Boston. Lowell was born in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to John and Mary Emlen Lowell (Lowell 1899, p 302). Lowell graduated f ...

through his eldest son John (1856–1922).

References

Sources