Most sources give his birthday as being July 15, 1810, however when he applied for British citizenship in 1866 he gave his age as 60, so he would have been born in 1806. According to an August 1876 article appearing in The Westminster Papers reporting on his passing, by his own account he was born in 1810.
Little is actually known about his origins and early life. There was no city called Budapest when he lived there. He was actually born in Pest which is situated on the flatter eastern bank of the Danube. His father is said to have been a Jewish merchant, but Lowenthal was educated in a Catholic school either because of a lack of options or else to give him a broader education.
According to Lowenthal in an account he gave the publication Men of the Time, prior to 1848 he had been engaged in “mercantile pursuits” and during the “Hungarian insurrection of 1848, in which he took some part and upon the suppression of which he was obligated to take refuge in a foreign land.”
After being expelled from Hungary he arrived in New York via Hamburg on December 29, 1849. In 1851 he moved to London and resided permanently in England.
Lowenthal described how he had arrived in New York homeless, bereft of means and ignorant of any language except Hungarian. However, he was quick to add that he found among the chess community a “hearty American welcome” and the chess community was generous in helping him out financially. He frequently made mention in conversations about how the local players treated him and often invited him into their homes.
He was able to scratch out a living playing chess and after visiting Philadelphia, Baltimore and Lexington, Kentucky he ended up in Cincinnati, Ohio.
When he arrived in Cincinnati he met up with his fellow countryman, Colonel Pragay, and the two traveled to New Orleans carrying a letter of introduction to Eugene Rousseau. Immediately after arriving in New Orleans, Lowenthal fell ill with a fever, but after recovering he met with Rousseau and that’s when he first heard of 12-year-old Paul Morphy. For an account of Lowenthal's meeting with Morphy refer to Life Master A.J. Goldsby's site HERE.
The Era, in the October 5th, 1856 edition, Lowenthal wrote, “The progress chess has made in America is almost, if not quite, equal to that which it has achieved in England. This is more than might have been expected...in almost every large town there is a Chess Club, and many of these clubs are in communication and play games by correspondence.”
After Lowenthal left New Orleans he returned to Cincinnati where he was induced to settle. He opened a smoking and chess divan and was doing quite well when he received a letter from Charles Stanley in New York. That letter contained a letter from Staunton inviting him to attend the international tournament at London, in 1851.
Lowenthal traveled to London where he got eliminated in the first round when he lost 2-1 to England’s Elijah Williams. After the tournament he decided to remain in England where he made his living as a chess professional and journalist. His main reason for not returning to Cincinnati was embarrassment over his poor performance at London and his belief that he had somehow let down his friends in Cincinnati.
When Morphy arrived in England in 1858, Lowenthal, who did not like the idea that it was known that he had been beaten by a twelve year old in New Orleans, wasted no time in issuing a challenge which Morphy readily accepted. The winner was the first to score nine wins. Morphy won easily +9 -3 =2.
Lowenthal never married, but devoted his life to the furtherance of chess. He was granted British citizenship in September of 1866 under the name John Lowenthal.
In 1861 when the British Chess Association was formed Lowenthal was appointed managing director and thereafter his play was confined to casual play. He was described by the Westminster Chess Club Papers as being “amiable in character, even to weakness, ..he excited no personal enmities, although his administration...frequently provoked criticism (by) malevolent or stupid persons...” During his last days he was ill and lived in St. Leonards-on-Sea where he depended on charity.
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