author
Frank O. (Frank Orren) Lowden
1861–1943
A small-town Midwesterner who rose to become governor of Illinois, he built a national reputation as a careful reformer and a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination. His career joined law, public service, and party leadership at a moment when American politics was rapidly changing.
1 Audiobook
Lincoln, the American
by Frank O. (Frank Orren) Lowden
About the author
Born in Sunrise City, Minnesota, in 1861, he grew up in Iowa and worked his way through school before graduating from the University of Iowa and earning a law degree from Northwestern University. He went on to build a successful legal career in Chicago, where his skill as a speaker and organizer helped bring him into Republican politics.
He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois before becoming governor of Illinois, serving from 1917 to 1921. As governor, he was widely noted for pushing administrative and financial reforms, and his standing in the party made him a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920, though he did not win it.
Lowden remained an important Republican voice after leaving office and was again mentioned in presidential politics later in the decade. He died in Tucson, Arizona, in 1943, remembered as one of the most prominent Illinois Republicans of his era.