Lowells

Lowells is a surname of English origin that has become associated with several notable families and individuals in American history, as well as with place names in the United States. In broader use, the name refers to people bearing the surname Lowell and to communities named Lowell. The name spread to North America with English settlers and later became linked to industry, literature, education, and science through various members of the Lowell lineage.

Among the most prominent Lowells are figures from the American Gilded Age onward. Francis Cabot Lowell (1775–1817) was a merchant who helped establish the Boston Manufacturing Company and contributed to the rise of New England textile production; the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named in his honor. Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1856–1947) served as president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933 and guided major expansions of the institution. Percival Lowell (1855–1916) founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, which later played a role in planetary astronomy, including the discovery of Pluto in 1930. In literature, James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a noted poet and critic, Amy Lowell (1874–1925) was a poet and Imagist advocate who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1926, and Robert Lowell (1917–1977) was a prominent poet who received multiple Pulitzer Prizes.

Geographically, Lowell refers to several places in the United States, most notably Lowell, Massachusetts, a historic industrial center. Other towns named Lowell exist in various states, reflecting the broad distribution of the surname. The Lowell name also remains associated with scientific and educational institutions connected to its notable bearers.