Thomas Blanchard Stowell (1846–1927) was a distinguished American educator. Stowell was born on March 29, 1846 in Perry, New York. In 1865, at the age of 19, he graduated from Genesee College (now Syracuse University). He went on to earn a Master's degree in 1868 and a Ph.D. in 1881 from the same institution. In 1869 Stowell became the Chair of Natural Sciences at the new (founded 1868) Cortland State Normal School in Cortland, New York, now known as the State University of New York at Cortland. After having just held four jobs in four years, he stayed at Cortland for 20 years.