John Lowell (1824-1897) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and died in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was a Boston-based lawyer and then a judge. Lowell graduated from Harvard, first in 1843 and then in 1845 when he received his law degree. After graduating, he set up a private law practice in Boston. In 1865, he was appointed to the bench of the U.S. District Court by Abraham Lincoln, a position he held until 1879 when he was appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court by Rutherford B. Hayes. During his judgeship at the United States circuit court, he presided over the lawsuit Mary Baker Eddy brought against Edward J. Arens in 1883. Lowell retired from the Court in 1884 and returned to his private law practice.

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