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Charles W. Bryan

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Charles W. Bryan
Bryan in 1924
20th and 23rd Governor of Nebraska
In office
January 8, 1931 – January 3, 1935
LieutenantTheodore Metcalfe
Walter H. Jurgensen
Preceded byArthur J. Weaver
Succeeded byRoy Cochran
In office
January 3, 1923 – January 8, 1925
LieutenantFred Johnson
Preceded bySamuel McKelvie
Succeeded byAdam McMullen
23rd and 30th Mayor of Lincoln
In office
1935–1937
Preceded byFenton Fleming
Succeeded byOren S. Copeland
In office
1915–1917
Preceded byFrank Zehrung
Succeeded byJohn Miller
Personal details
BornCharles Wayland Bryan
(1867-02-10)February 10, 1867
Salem, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 4, 1945(1945-03-04) (aged 78)
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Resting placeWyuka Cemetery
PartyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Brokaw
Children3
Parent(s)Silas Bryan
Mariah Elizabeth Jennings
RelativesWilliam Jennings Bryan (brother)
William Sherman Jennings (cousin)
EducationIllinois College
University of Chicago

Charles Wayland Bryan (February 10, 1867 – March 4, 1945) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 20th and 23rd governor of Nebraska from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1931 to 1935. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served two terms as the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 1924. He was the younger brother of prominent Democratic politician William Jennings Bryan.

Biography

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Charles W. Bryan at left; William Jennings Bryan at right.
Charles W. Bryan (left) with William Jennings Bryan

Charles Wayland Bryan was born in Salem, Illinois on February 10, 1867, to Silas Lillard Bryan and Mariah Elizabeth (Jennings) Bryan.[1] Charles was one of nine children of Silas and Mariah, the first three of their children died during infancy. He had four of whom lived to adulthood.[2] Silas was a Baptist and Mariah was a Methodist. Of Scots-Irish and English ancestry,[a] Charles inherited his father's Democratic affiliation.[4] Charles' cousin, William Sherman Jennings, was also a prominent Democrat.[5] Bryan attended both the University of Chicago and Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. He married Elizabeth Louise Brokaw and they had three children. Bryan worked as a tobacco broker and insurance salesman, farmed, and raised purebred livestock.

Bryan moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1889 and became business manager and political secretary for his brother, William. From 1901 to 1923, he was publisher and associate editor of his brother's newspaper, The Commoner. Elected to the Lincoln City Commission in 1915 and 1921, he also served as mayor of Lincoln from 1915 to 1917, and again from 1935 to 1937.[6] During his first term as mayor, several progressive reforms were carried out.[7][8][9]

Bryan first ran for governor in 1916,[10] though he lost in the primary to Keith Neville.[11] Bryan was elected the governor of Nebraska in 1922, and served from 1923 to 1925. He was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1924, picked largely because of his name to serve as running mate to conservative easterner John W. Davis. The ticket was overwhelmingly defeated by Republican incumbent Calvin Coolidge and his running mate Charles G. Dawes.

He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in 1926 and 1928. He won the 1930 and 1932 gubernatorial elections, serving as governor again from 1931 to 1935. During his tenure, the state's economy flourished, state spending was limited, and taxes were reduced.[12] He unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1934, and was elected to another term as Mayor of Lincoln in 1935. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1938 as an independent candidate, ran for the U.S. House in 1940, and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1942.

Bryan died on March 4, 1945, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is interred there at Wyuka Cemetery.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Asked when his family "dropped the 'O'" from his O'Bryan surname, he replied there had never been one.[3]

References

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  1. ↑ William Jennings Bryan Nebraska State Historical Society
  2. ↑ Kazin (2006), p. 8
  3. ↑ Bryan Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan, pp. 22–26.
  4. ↑ Kazin (2006), pp. 4–5, 9
  5. ↑ "Florida International University: Reclaiming the Everglades-biography of William Sherman Jennings". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ Charles W. Bryan. Encyclopedia of Nebraska. January 1999. ISBN 9780403098347. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  7. ↑ William Jennings Bryan III. Political Puritan 1915-1925 by Paolo E. Coletta, University of Nebraska Press, p. 156
  8. ↑ The monitor., August 17, 1918, Page 7
  9. ↑ The commoner., May 01, 1917, Page 13
  10. ↑ Argus, Albion (March 1, 1916). "Comments on Mayor Bryan's candidacy for the Nebraska Democratic gubernatorial nomination". The Commoner. p. 7.
  11. ↑ Dunn, I.J. (April 1, 1916). "Dunn Scores Special Interests". The Commoner. p. 9.
  12. ↑ "Charles W. Bryan". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 24, 2012.

Sources

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