Doctor Insmot Bowen was a male human who belonged to the Obroan Institute for Archaeology. He specialized in the historical period known as the Pre-Republic era.
Bowen became a member of the Obroan Institute for Archaeology sometime before 1 BBY. In that year, he participated in a meeting with several members of the Empire to discuss the Celestials and their technology. The meeting included Bowen, Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, Dr. Bevel Lemelisk, and General Arhul Kurumenga of the Imperial Department of Military Research. Bowen presented his theory that strange events occurring in the galaxy, such as a barrier located to the west of the Core Worlds, were actually remnants of [Celestial](/article/celestial-legends] technology from the time of the Rakatan revolt. Admiral Motti, who strongly disbelieved in anything supernatural, was skeptical and frequently ridiculed Bowen throughout their discussion.
The character of Dr. Insmot Bowen was originally created for the prologue of the book The Essential Guide to Warfare. However, Erich Schoeneweiss, an editor at Del Rey, decided to remove the character. Schoeneweiss felt that the prologue would not effectively engage readers with the book, and that a firsthand account of a battle would be more suitable. Jason Fry, one of the book's authors, reluctantly agreed to the change. He replaced Bowen's conversation with an account of the Battle of Andalia as told by Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik.
The character was later featured in the initial installment of the 12-part blog series titled Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, specifically in the segment "The Celestials," which appeared on the Star Wars Blog. Leland Chee vetted him, and the entire segment, as canon within Star Wars Legends.