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 The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

, and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

. He was the younger brother of Secretary of State

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

, who was the Democratic nominee for President in

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, and

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

Early life

Charles Wayland Bryan was born in

Salem, Illinois Salem is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,485 at the 2010 census. Geography Salem is located at (38.6282, -88.9482). According to the 2010 census, Salem has a total area of , of w ...

on February 10, 1867, to Silas Lillard Bryan and Mariah Elizabeth (Jennings) Bryan. Nebraska State Historical Society Silas Bryan had been born in 1822 and had established a legal practice in Salem in 1851. He married Mariah, a former student of his at

McKendree College McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...

, in 1852. Of Scots-Irish and English ancestry, Silas Bryan was an avid

Jacksonian Democrat Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, An ...

. He won election as a state circuit judge and in 1866 moved his family to a farm north of Salem, living in a ten-room house that was the envy of Marion County. Silas served in various local positions and sought election to Congress in 1872, but was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate. An admirer of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

and

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

, Silas passed on his Democratic affiliation to his son, William, who would remain a life-long Democrat. Charles' cousin,

William Sherman Jennings William Sherman Jennings (March 24, 1863February 27, 1920) was an American politician. He served as the 18th Governor of Florida after being a lawyer, county judge, and state representative. Early years and education He was born near Walnut Hill ...

,Florida International University: Reclaiming the Everglades-biography of William Sherman Jennings
/ref> was also a prominent Democrat. 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. Silas was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

and Mariah was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

. Bryan attended both the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and

Illinois College Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree ( ...

in Jacksonville. He married Elizabeth Louise Brokaw on November 29, 1892. They had three children. Bryan worked as a tobacco broker and insurance salesman, farmed, and raised purebred livestock.

Career

Bryan moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1889, and became business manager and political secretary for his brother, William Jennings Bryan. 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

from 1915 to 1917 (again from 1935 to 1937). Bryan first ran for governor in 1916, though he lost in the primary to

Keith Neville Morell Keith Neville (February 25, 1884 – December 4, 1959) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 18th Governor of Nebraska. Neville was born in North Platte, Nebrask ...

. Bryan was elected the

in 1922, and served from 1923 to 1925. He was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in

, picked largely because of his name to serve as running mate to conservative easterner

John W. Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...

. The ticket was overwhelmingly defeated by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Calvin Coolidge and his running mate

Charles G. Dawes Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-reci ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1926 and 1928. He won in 1930 and 1932, and served from 1931 to 1935. During his tenure, the state's economy flourished, state spending was limited, and taxes were reduced. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1934, governor in 1938, the U.S. House in 1940, and governor in 1942.

Death

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

Notes

References

;Bibliography * *

External links

*
Encyclopedia of Nebraska

at National Governors Association , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Charles W. 1867 births 1945 deaths 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century American politicians Baptists from Illinois Charles Bryan Democratic Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Democratic Party governors of Nebraska Illinois College alumni Mayors of Lincoln, Nebraska People from Salem, Illinois Candidates in the 1924 United States presidential election 1924 United States vice-presidential candidates University of Chicago alumni