Lloyd Wheaton Bowers (March 9, 1859 – September 9, 1910) was an American lawyer.

Life and career

Bowers was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, the son of Samuel Dwight Bowers and Martha Wheaton Dowd. On both sides, his ancestors were Puritans who had settled in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

more than two centuries before his birth. His family moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, and later to

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of his class in 1879, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

. For one year he remained a graduate student, then traveled in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and despite an offer to teach at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, he turned to the law profession. He graduated from the

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

, was admitted to the New York bar, and received a clerkship from a leading firm in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1882. His efforts earned him the position of managing clerk in one year, and in 1884, he became a member of the firm. Ill health compelled him to rest, and as a result of travel to the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

he moved to

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

, in October 1884. There he formed a partnership with Thomas Wilson, former chief justice of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

, where he practiced law until 1893. He then became the

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the

Chicago & North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

Company, one of the great railway systems of the country, and in this office he served until 1909, when he was appointed by President Taft, an intimate friend since college and fellow Bonesman,

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

. The years of his work with the North Western were a period of extraordinary industrial development. Incidentally to this development litigation arose involving federal control of the railroads under the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the powers of the states to control intrastate commerce and to tax corporations, and the

Sherman Anti-Trust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair Monopoly, monopolies. It was passed by United States Cong ...

of 1890. Bowers success in winning cases for the government during his brief service as solicitor general was phenomenal. He found great joy, as solicitor general, in the fact that he could act solely as lawyer, rather than counsel, and for the whole country rather than for a special interest. Only his death prevented his nomination by President Taft for appointment to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. He retained throughout his life a catholicity of intellectual interests, particularly in literature. Art and music, in his later years, also became avid interests. Notwithstanding some reserve, his charm of manner, marked by kindly sympathy, easily won him friends. He married twice; first on September 7, 1887, to Louisa Bennett Wilson of

, who died on December 20, 1897; and second in 1906, to Charlotte Josephine Lewis of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, who survived him after his death, aged 51. Lloyd and Louisa's daughter Martha Wheaton Bowers married Robert Alphonso Taft, elder son of President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

and Helen Louise "Nellie" Herron. He left no published works.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowers, Lloyd Wheaton 1859 births 1910 deaths Minnesota lawyers Lawyers from Brooklyn People from Elizabeth, New Jersey People from Springfield, Massachusetts Solicitors general of the United States Yale University alumni Columbia Law School alumni 19th-century American lawyers Members of Skull and Bones