John Lowell (judge)
Encyclopedia
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
from Boston, Massachusetts. He was appointed to separate judgeships by Presidents Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
.
Family
Boston-born Lowell was the son of John Amory LowellJohn Amory Lowell
Hon. John Amory Lowell was an American businessman and philanthropist from Boston. He became the sole trustee of the Lowell Institute when his first cousin, John Lowell, Jr. , the Institute's endower, died...
(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
John A. Lowell was an American lawyer, selectman, jurist, delegate to the Congress of the Confederation and federal judge....
(1743–1802).
Career
Lowell received an A.B. degree from Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1843, and received an LL.B. degree from there in 1845. He was in private practice in Boston from 1846 to 1865, also working as an editor of the Monthly Law Reporter from 1856 to 1860. On March 11, 1865, Lowell was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to a seat on the U.S. District Court
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. The second term was held in Salem in 1790 and until 1813 court session locations...
vacated by Peleg Sprague. Lowell was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on the same day, and immediately received his commission. On December 16, 1878 he was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
to the U.S. Circuit Court
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdiction and major federal crimes. They also had appellate...
to a seat vacated by George Foster Shepley. The Senate confirmed Lowell, and his commission issued, on December 18, 1878. Lowell resigned on May 1, 1884, returning to private practice in Boston until his death in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
.