Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands (April 1, 1901 – March 28, 1961) was a Welsh-American member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

and the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

. He was born in

Cambria, Wisconsin Cambria is a village in Columbia County, Wisconsin, Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 767 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Madison, Wisconsin, Madison Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area, ...

, the son of Emma (née Davies) and David Morris Rowlands, of Welsh descent. He had an elder brother, Morris.

Biography

On September 10, 1924, in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, he married Mary Allen Neal, who became an actress in her later years, and was known as Lady Rowlands. They had two children: a son, David, and a daughter,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, who is best known as the Emmy Award-winning and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated actress

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations w ...

. Rowlands served in the Assembly from 1927 to 1933 and in the Senate from 1935 to 1937. He was also Chairman of the

Wisconsin Progressive Party The Wisconsin Progressive Party (1934–1946) was a political party that briefly held a dominant role in Wisconsin politics. History The Party was the brainchild of Philip La Follette and Robert M. La Follette, Jr., the sons of the famous Wisco ...

. Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands died in 1961 in

Harris County, Texas Harris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas; as of the 2020 census, the population was 4,731,145, making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston, ...

, four days before his 60th birthday.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
1901 births 1961 deaths Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Cambria, Wisconsin Wisconsin Progressives (1924) Wisconsin state senators American people of Welsh descent 20th-century American politicians {{Wisconsin-politician-stub