State Web Site

Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  Civil War

ROBERT LOWRY, the thirty-second governor of Mississippi, was born in Chesterfield District, South Carolina on March 10, 1831. His early education was limited and attained in the common schools of South Carolina and Mississippi. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1859, and then established his legal career in Brandon, Mississippi. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company B, 6th Mississippi Infantry and rose to the rank of brigadier general by the time he was discharged. Lowry first entered politics as a member of the Mississippi State Senate, a position he held from 1865 to 1866. He next secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote on November 8, 1881. He was reelected to a second term in 1885. During his tenure, a railroad commission was formed; the East Mississippi Insane Asylum was founded; state revenues were increased, as well as funding for state colleges. Also, an industrial college for girls was established; and railroad construction was advanced more than any other time in the state’s history. Lowry completed his term and left office on January 13, 1890. After running unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1901, Lowry retired from political life. Governor Robert Lowry, who co-authored A History of Mississippi, passed away on January 19, 1910. He was buried in the City Cemetery in Brandon, Mississippi.

Resources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Mississippi Historical Society

The Political Graveyard