In late April 2026, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave a lecture on the Hill. But before delivering his remarks, he visited Uris and Kroch libraries to view materials about Elias Avery Lowe 1902—his great-grandfather.
While Johnson remembered meeting Lowe as a child, he didn’t know his ancestor’s Big Red pedigree. (Fortunately, his tour guide—yours truly—did.)
A look into Lowe’s file in the University Archives provides a glimpse into the life of one of Cornell’s most notable classical scholars.
In fact, a 1960 letter from the curator of rare books, George Healey, PhD ’47, to the University Librarian calls Lowe “the most overlooked of all our graduates who have reached genuine world-wide distinction,” adding: “I believe no graduate of the University has achieved a higher position in his chosen field of scholarship.”
