Born in Errol, he served the King of France as a surgeon before returning to Glasgow. He was shocked at the state of surgery here and decided that barbers should stick to cutting hair and not other parts of the body. His plea to James VI for a charter to found the Faculty of Chirurgerie was granted. Thus in 1599 his faculty came into existence to set the standard of training and qualifications for surgeons. The charter was “The Magna Carta of Medicine”. It's authority brought more benefits - standards for public health and medicines and free service for the poor. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow is Peter Lowe's Living Memorial.

Now located on St Vincent Street as an educational establishment the Faculty reached its height just before the first world war. Thereafter the majority of medical students went to Glasgow University. Glasgow had other medical schools including a prestigious medical faculty established in 1799 by The Andersons University (University of Strathclyde). It's fame was such that up until the 1860's it was attracting more students than Glasgow University. One of its best known students was the famous geographer and missionary David Livingstone.

Peter Lowe is buried on the old graveyard next to Glasgow Cathedral.