Born on October 18, 1824, in Boston, Massachusetts,[1] Lowell received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1843 from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Laws in 1845 from Harvard Law School.

[2] Lowell was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln on March 11, 1865, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated by Judge Peleg Sprague.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 11, 1865, and received his commission the same day.

[2] Lowell was nominated by President Rutherford B. Hayes on December 16, 1878, to a seat on the United States Circuit Courts for the First Circuit vacated by Judge George Foster Shepley.

[2] Following his resignation from the federal bench, Lowell resumed private practice in Boston from 1884 to 1897.