Ralph P. Lowe

For the Grenadian cricketer, see Ralph Lowe (cricketer).

Ralph Phillips Lowe (November 27, 1805 – December 22, 1883) was an American judge and the 4th Governor of Iowa. He was the first Republican governor of Iowa.

Ralph Phillips Lowe
4th governor of Iowa
In office January 13, 1858 – January 11, 1860
Preceded by	James W. Grimes
Succeeded by	Samuel J. Kirkwood
Personal details
Born	(1805-11-27)November 27, 1805 Warren County, Ohio, U.S.
Died	December 22, 1883(1883-12-22) (aged 78) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican
Profession	Judge

Life and career

Grave of Ralph P. Lowe.

Lowe was born in Warren County, Ohio. He settled in the town of Muscatine, and was selected as a representative to the Iowa state constitutional convention in 1844. He moved to Lee County at the end of the 1840s, and became the district judge succeeding George Henry Williams. He became an Iowa state court judge in 1852. In 1857 he was nominated as the Republican candidate for Governor of Iowa, with Oran Faville as his lieutenant. He won the election by a narrow margin (38,498 votes to 36,088) and served as governor for two years between 1858 and 1860.

At the end of his term he was appointed as a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, which he served as between 1860 and 1867. He resumed practicing law, and in 1874 moved to Washington, D.C., where he died on December 22, 1883. He was interred at Glenwood Cemetery.

Bibliography

• Bailey, N. Louise; Morgan, Mary L.; Taylor, Carolyn R. (1986). Biographical Directory of the South Carolina Senate: 1776-1985. Volume 1. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0872494799.