author
Orin Fowler
1791–1852
A minister, reformer, and congressman from Massachusetts, he moved from missionary work into public life without losing his moral intensity. Best remembered today for his service in the U.S. House and his outspoken anti-tobacco views, he brought the tone of a preacher into politics.
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About the author
Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, on July 29, 1791, Orin Fowler studied at Williams before graduating from Yale in 1814. He trained for the ministry, did missionary work in the Mississippi Valley, and later served as a pastor in Plainfield, Connecticut, before moving to Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1829.
In Fall River he became a prominent Congregational minister and a well-known local figure. His career gradually widened from church life into civic and political work, including service in the Massachusetts legislature.
Fowler was elected as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served from 1849 until his death in Washington, D.C., on September 3, 1852. He is also noted as an early anti-smoking advocate, which gives his life an unexpectedly modern edge.