{"id":71450,"date":"2026-05-12T14:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=71450"},"modified":"2026-05-12T14:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T18:04:28","slug":"earle-johnson-lowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/earle-johnson-lowe\/","title":{"rendered":"Former UK Prime Minister Delves into an Ancestor\u2019s Big Red History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Our columnist took Boris Johnson on a tour of two East Hill libraries with info about his Cornellian great-grandfather<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Corey Ryan Earle \u201907<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In late April 2026, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.cornell.edu\/stories\/2026\/04\/west-worth-saving-boris-johnson-tells-cornell-students\">gave a lecture<\/a> on the Hill. But before delivering his remarks, he visited Uris and Kroch libraries to view materials about Elias Avery Lowe 1902\u2014his great-grandfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Johnson remembered meeting Lowe as a child, he didn\u2019t know his ancestor\u2019s Big Red pedigree. (Fortunately, his tour guide\u2014yours truly\u2014did.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A look into Lowe\u2019s file in the University Archives provides a glimpse into the life of one of Cornell\u2019s most notable classical scholars.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-788x1024.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of Corey Earle with the title Storytime with Corey\" class=\"wp-image-31441 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-788x1024.jpg 788w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-768x998.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-1181x1536.jpg 1181w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-1575x2048.jpg 1575w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-1215x1580.jpg 1215w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-608x790.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-304x395.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-385x500.jpg 385w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-192x250.jpg 192w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-96x125.jpg 96w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/02\/Cornellians_Corey_Illustration_v5-scaled.jpg 1969w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, a 1960 letter from the curator of rare books, George Healey, PhD \u201947, to the University Librarian calls Lowe \u201cthe most overlooked of all our graduates who have reached genuine world-wide distinction,\u201d adding: \u201cI believe no graduate of the University has achieved a higher position in his chosen field of scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>A 1960 letter from the curator of rare books, George Healey, PhD \u201947, to the University Librarian calls Lowe \u201cthe most overlooked of all our graduates who have reached genuine world-wide distinction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Born to a Jewish family in Moscow, Lowe emigrated to the U.S. in 1892 and arrived on the Hill in 1899 after three years at the College of the City of New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He became an American citizen during his undergraduate studies. (His name at the time was spelled \u201cLoew,\u201d though he later changed it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>If there\u2019s one theme to Lowe\u2019s undergrad years, it\u2019s his brilliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His academic transcript, filled with Latin and Greek courses, boasts nearly all straight As\u2014in an era long before grade inflation. His bio from the student-run <em>Class Book<\/em> notes that \u201che feels unhappy when he gets anything lower than 95, and his course cards look like the temperature report of midsummer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His junior year, Lowe was one of only five members of his graduating class (and the only male) inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A young Elias Avery Lowe 1902\" class=\"wp-image-71454 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-1264x1265.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-632x632.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6782-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Lowe in the <em>Class Book<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But it was his post-Cornell scholarship that earned him fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the University of Oxford faculty for 38 years, Lowe established himself as an international authority on paleography (ancient writing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>His academic transcript, filled with Latin and Greek courses, boasts nearly all straight As\u2014in an era long before grade inflation.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For four decades, he compiled his magnum opus, <em>Codices Latini Antiquiores<\/em>, a catalogue of all surviving Latin manuscripts written before the ninth century. It includes details and photographs of over 2,000 works\u2014across repositories in 21 countries\u2014filling 11 volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson speaks at Call Auditorium in Kennedy Hall on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Ryan Young \/ Cornell University)\" class=\"wp-image-71452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/2026_1164_RY_1744-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">Ryan Young \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Johnson in Call Auditorium with moderator Max Whalen \u201926,\u00a0president of Cornell Republicans &#8230;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Boris jJohnson looks through a book in the Kroch Library reading room with curator Laurent Ferri\" class=\"wp-image-71453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/DSC_6777-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8230; and in Kroch Library with curator Laurent Ferri.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Concurrent with his Oxford appointment, Lowe served as a research associate at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and was only the 14th person to join the faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(On an alumni info form from 1952, Lowe listed among his primary contacts the institute\u2019s director: J. Robert Oppenheimer, of Manhattan Project fame.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>On an alumni info form from 1952, Lowe listed among his primary contacts the director of the Institute for Advanced Study: J. Robert Oppenheimer, of Manhattan Project fame.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lowe received numerous honorary degrees and professional awards, and was only the third U.S. citizen to receive the Gold Medal from London\u2019s Bibliographical Society. His <em>Times of London<\/em> obituary called him \u201camong the greatest American scholars of his generation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"582\" height=\"790\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A.jpg\" alt=\"Elias Avery Lowe writing as an elderly man\" class=\"wp-image-71456 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A.jpg 582w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A-291x395.jpg 291w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A-368x500.jpg 368w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A-184x250.jpg 184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Lowe-photo-1-A-92x125.jpg 92w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\" \/><figcaption>Lowe in his later years.<\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Lowe\u2019s wife, Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, also spent time on the shores of Cayuga Lake, having graduated from Wells College a year before Elias arrived in Ithaca. An accomplished scholar, she\u2019s best known for translating the works of German writer Thomas Mann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helen and Elias\u2019s daughter, Frances, married British barrister James Fawcett, who later served as president of the European Commission for Human Rights. Their daughter, British artist Charlotte Johnson Wahl, was Boris Johnson\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And although Lowe spent much of his career overseas, his alma mater remained close to his heart; he returned to give lectures on topics like \u201cModern Forgeries of Ancient Texts\u201d and \u201cManuscripts That Made History.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He died in 1969 while conducting research in Germany, just weeks short of his 90th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLast time I ran into the old man it was quite by accident on a London street,\u201d Healey reported to the <em>Alumni News<\/em> after Lowe\u2019s passing. \u201cI wanted to talk about paleography. All he wanted to talk about was Cornell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cornell-red-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8c1dcbb709d16db9f474669faae5a05e\"><em>An expert on Big Red lore, Corey Ryan Earle \u201907 teaches \u201cThe First American University,\u201d a wildly popular spring semester course on Cornell history.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: Johnson chats with Earle in the A.D. White Reading Room, as University Librarian Elaine Westbrooks looks on. (All images courtesy of Rare and Manuscript Collections, unless otherwise indicated.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published May 12, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our columnist took Boris Johnson on a tour of two East Hill libraries with info about his Cornellian great-grandfather<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":71455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[657],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-71450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-storytime-with-corey"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former UK Prime Minister Delves into an Ancestor\u2019s Big Red History - 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