Biography:

James Russell Lowell was an American poet and diplomat.
Lowell was born in 1819 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied law at Harvard University.  In 1845 he wrote a series of essays against slavery and later published the Biglow Papers, a satirical collection of poems against slavery and the Mexican War.  His other famous works include The Vision of Sir Launfal and A Fable for Critics.  In 1877 President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Lowell Minister to Spain.  Three years later, he was appointed Ambassador to Great Britain and served from 1880 to 1885.  He died in 1891.