Richard Johns Bowie

Whig Representative of Maryland's 1st district

Congresses Served

House Terms

June 23, 1807 (73 years old)

Birthday

March 12, 1881

Death

Was an American slave owner, politician, and jurist.
Born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and raised in a family with military and legal backgrounds.
Attended public schools and Brookville Academy before graduating from Georgetown Law School in 1826.
Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1829.
Moved to Rockville, Maryland, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits alongside practicing law.
Served in the Maryland House of Delegates (1835-1837) and the Maryland State Senate (1837-1841), representing the Western Shore.
Was a delegate to the Whig National Convention in 1840.
Served as State’s attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland (1844-1849).
Elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (1849-1853).
Unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor of Maryland in 1853.
Served as chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (1861-1867).
Detained by Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart in 1863 but released shortly after.
Later served as chief judge of the sixth judicial circuit of Maryland and as an associate judge of the court of appeals of Maryland until his death.
Married Catherine L. Williams in 1833 and had three adopted daughters: Emma, Rose, and Marie Holland.
Died in Montgomery County, Maryland, and is interred in Rockville Cemetery.