Ralph Phillips Lowe was the fourth Governor of Iowa.

Biography

Lowe was born in Warren County, Ohio

Warren County, Ohio

Warren County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 212,693 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lebanon. Warren County was erected May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County, and named for Dr...

. He settled in the town of Muscatine

Muscatine, Iowa

Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...

, and was selected as a representative to the Iowa state constitutional convention in 1844. He moved to Lee County

Lee County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 35,862 in the county, with a population density of . There were 16,205 housing units, of which 14,610 were occupied.-2000 census:...

 at the end of the 1840s, and became the district judge succeeding George Henry Williams

George Henry Williams

George Henry Williams was an American judge and politician. He served as Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, was the 32nd Attorney General of the United States, and served one term in the United States Senate...

. 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

Iowa Supreme Court

The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. As constitutional head of the Iowa Judicial Branch, the Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices....

, which he served as between 1860 and 1867. He resumed practicing law, and in 1874 moved to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where he died on 22 December 1883.