US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to the Twelfth and five succeeding Congresses, representing South Carolina's 4th and 2nd Districts, he served from 1811 to 1822. The son of South Carolina Governor Rawlins Lowndes, he was born at the "Horseshoe" plantation near Jacksonborough and received a classical education in England. In 1804 he was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Charleston, while remaining active as a planter; that same year he was elected to the first of five terms (through 1808) in the State House of Representatives. During his tenure in Congress he was Chairman of the Committees on Ways and Means (four years) and Expenditures in the Treasury Department (two years). In 1821 the South Carolina General Assembly nominated Lowndes over John C. Calhoun as its candidate for the 1824 presidential election. He tacitly accepted, but his health began to fail and in May 1822 he resigned his seat in the US House. Six months later he died aboard the ship Moss in the North Atlantic, en route to Paris, and was buried at sea. There is a cenotaph for him at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. Lowndes Counties in Georgia (1825), Alabama (1830), and Mississippi (1830) were all created in his honor.
US Congressman. Elected as a Republican to the Twelfth and five succeeding Congresses, representing South Carolina's 4th and 2nd Districts, he served from 1811 to 1822. The son of South Carolina Governor Rawlins Lowndes, he was born at the "Horseshoe" plantation near Jacksonborough and received a classical education in England. In 1804 he was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Charleston, while remaining active as a planter; that same year he was elected to the first of five terms (through 1808) in the State House of Representatives. During his tenure in Congress he was Chairman of the Committees on Ways and Means (four years) and Expenditures in the Treasury Department (two years). In 1821 the South Carolina General Assembly nominated Lowndes over John C. Calhoun as its candidate for the 1824 presidential election. He tacitly accepted, but his health began to fail and in May 1822 he resigned his seat in the US House. Six months later he died aboard the ship Moss in the North Atlantic, en route to Paris, and was buried at sea. There is a cenotaph for him at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. Lowndes Counties in Georgia (1825), Alabama (1830), and Mississippi (1830) were all created in his honor.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
