Richard Barrett Lowe
Educator and governor of American Samoa and Guam
Richard Barrett Lowe (July 8, 1902 – April 16, 1972) was the governor (and fifth appointed civil governor) of American Samoa (October 1, 1953 – October 15, 1956) and the eighth American governor (and third civilian governor) of Guam (October 15, 1956 – November 14, 1959). He was also a prominent educator and United Nations observer.
Early life and education
Lowe was born on July 8, 1902, in Madison, South Dakota, the youngest of three children. Lowe graduated from Madison High School, and studied at the University of Wisconsin for one year before transferring to the Normal school at Eastern State Teacher's College, where he graduated in 1929. During his senior year, he wrote the premise for and directed the film Dacotah, believed to be the first full-length motion picture filmed entirely on a college campus. Lowe later received his master's degree from the University of South Dakota; he received an honorary Doctor of Education from Ottawa University in 1942.
Career
Following his graduation from Eastern State, Lowe served as an educator and superintendent in various places in South Dakota, eventually becoming president of the South Dakota Education Association. In February 1946, Lowe became the dean of the Nebraska State Teachers College in Peru, Nebraska. While helping with a Naval Reserves recruiting drive, Lowe convinced those in charge to emphasize the importance of education by using the slogan "Stay in School". Lowe was offered the office of Director of Education, first of American Samoa, and later of Guam in the 1950s, but turned down both positions in hopes of obtaining a governorship.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Richard Barrett Lowe” is educator and governor of American Samoa and Guam. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Richard, Barrett and Lowe, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “educator and governor of American Samoa and Guam” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3105285. VIAF identifies the subject as 4878157226599385410002. The Library of Congress control number is no2009053460. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1902, 1972, 1953 and 1956.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Richard Barrett Lowe”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Richard Barrett Lowe primary sources, Richard Barrett Lowe archive and Richard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Richard Barrett Lowe”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Richard Barrett Lowe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.