Chester Harvey Rowell (November 1, 1867 - April 12, 1948) was an early leader of the
progressive movement in
California.
Born in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, he earned a degree from the
University of Michigan in 1888. His father was
Jonathan H. Rowell
Jonathan Harvey Rowell (February 10, 1833 – May 15, 1908) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
Biography
Born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, Rowell attended Rock Creek School and later graduated from Eureka College, Illinois. During the Ci ...
, a U.S. congressman in Illinois.
Rowell studied three years in
Europe, including terms at the Universities of
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
, Berlin, Paris and Rome. In 1898 he became the editor and manager of the ''
Fresno Morning Republican
The ''Fresno Morning Republican'' (also known as the ''Fresno Republican'', ''Fresno Weekly Republican'' or the ''Fresno Daily Republican'') was a newspaper serving Fresno, California from 1876 through 1932. It was founded by Dr. Chester Rowell ...
'', the newspaper founded by his uncle
Dr. Chester Rowell. He remained as editor for 22 years.
In 1907, he was the co-founder and chairman (1907-1911) of the
Lincoln-Roosevelt League, a coalition of progressive Republican activists. The league was instrumental in the election of
Hiram Johnson as governor of California. In 1912, Rowell was a member of the sub-committee that wrote the national platforms for both the Republican and Progressive parties.
Later, Rowell was a lecturer in journalism at the University of California, Berkeley (1911) and in political science at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
(1927-1934). He was editor of the
San Francisco Chronicle (1932-1939). He was a member of the
University of California Board of Regents from 1914 until shortly before his death in 1948.
He took an interest in the
popularization of science.
He also served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as
Society for Science & the Public, from 1921-1923.
Rowell is sometimes confused with his uncle, Dr.
Chester Rowell
Dr. Chester A. Rowell (Oct. 17, 1844 - May 9, 1912) was an American physician and politician who served as a California state senator and as mayor of Fresno. He was also a regent of the University of California.
Before moving to California, Dr. ...
(1844-1912), a
Fresno physician, California State Senator (1880-1882, 1899-1901, 1903–1905), University of California regent (1891-1912), and mayor of
Fresno (1909-1912).
Notes
References
*Starr, Kevin, ''Inventing the Dream California Through the Progressive Era'', Oxford University Press (1985), chap. 8
*Winchell, L.A., ''History of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley'' (1933), p. 290-291
* https://web.archive.org/web/20131002130533/http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/~ucalhist/general_history/overview/regents/biographies_r.html
External links
Guide to the Chester H. Rowell Papersat
The Bancroft Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowell, Chester Harvey
1867 births
1948 deaths
People from Bloomington, Illinois
Stanford University Department of Political Science faculty
University of Michigan alumni
California Progressives (1912)
California Republicans