Charles W. Bryan

Charles W. Bryan
20th and 23rd Governor of Nebraska
In office January 8, 1931 – January 3, 1935
Lieutenant	Theodore Metcalfe Walter H. Jurgensen
Preceded by	Arthur J. Weaver
Succeeded by	Robert Leroy Cochran
In office January 3, 1923 – January 8, 1925
Lieutenant	Fred G. Johnson
Preceded by	Samuel R. McKelvie
Succeeded by	Adam McMullen
23rd and 30th Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska
In office 1935–1937
Preceded by	Fenton B. Fleming
Succeeded by	Oren S. Copeland
In office 1915–1917
Preceded by	Frank Connell Zehrung
Succeeded by	John Eschelman Miller
Personal details
Born	(1867-02-10)February 10, 1867 Salem, Illinois, U.S.
Died	March 4, 1945(1945-03-04) (aged 78) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Louise Brokaw
Alma mater	Illinois College
Profession	Manager, political consultant
Religion	Baptist

Charles Wayland Bryan (February 10, 1867 – March 4, 1945) was an American politician who served non-consecutive terms as Governor of Nebraska and Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1924. He was the younger brother of Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, who was the Democratic nominee for President in 1896, 1900, and 1908. The Bryans are the only brothers who have been nominated for President or Vice President by a major political party.

Born in 1867 in Salem, Illinois, Bryan attended both the University of Chicago and Illinois College in Jacksonville. He married Elizabeth Louise Brokaw on November 29, 1892.^[1] They had three children.

Career

Moving to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1889, Bryan worked as a tobacco broker and an insurance salesman. He also farmed and raised purebred livestock. He was business manager and political secretary for his brother, William Jennings Bryan until William's death in 1925. From 1901 to 1923, he was publisher and associate editor of the "Commoner". Elected to the Lincoln City Commission in 1915 and 1921, he also served as mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska from 1915 to 1917 (again from 1931 to 1935).^[2]

Bryan was elected the 20th and 23rd Governor of Nebraska from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1931 to 1935. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1926, 1928, and 1938. During his tenure, the state's economy flourished, state spending was limited, and taxes were reduced.^[3]

Bryan was also notable as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1924, where he was 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.

Charles W. and William J. Bryan

Death

Bryan died in 1945 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is interred at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln.^[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles W. Bryan.

• Charles W. Bryan at Find A Grave
• Encyclopedia of Nebraska
• National Governors Association
• Nebraska History.org

Governors of Nebraska Territorial (1854–67) Burt Cuming Izard Cuming Richardson Morton Black Morton Paddock Saunders State (since 1867) Butler James Furnas Garber Nance Dawes Thayer Boyd Crounse Holcomb Poynter Dietrich Savage Mickey Sheldon Shallenberger Aldrich Morehead Neville McKelvie Bryan McMullen Weaver Bryan Cochran Griswold Peterson Crosby Anderson Brooks Burney Morrison Tiemann Exon Thone Kerrey Orr Nelson Johanns Heineman Ricketts Italics indicate acting governors