Francis Cabot Lowell was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was raised in Boston and graduated from Harvard College in 1793. Upon graduation, Lowell went into the import/export business with his uncle, William Cabot. From 1810 to 1812 Lowell lived in England, where he studied British textile mills. He returned to the United States to establish a cotton factory during the War of 1812, when British textiles were not available. His mill was the first in the world to turn raw cotton into finished cloth under one roof. After the war ended, Lowell’s mill was threatened by competition from British textile imports. As a result, Lowell persuaded Congress to protect the U.S. textile industry by passing the Tariff of 1816. In 1817 Lowell died, but his success persuaded other New England merchants to go into manufacturing. The city of Lowell, Massachusetts, is named for him.
