Charles Page Bryan (October 2, 1855 – March 13, 1918) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Biography

Bryan was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, on October 2, 1855. He was the son of

Thomas Barbour Bryan Thomas Barbour Bryan (December 22, 1828 – January 26, 1906) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. Born in Virginia, a member of the prestigious Barbour family on his mother's side, Bryan largely made a name for himself in Chic ...

. Through his father, he was a member of the esteemed

Barbour family The Barbour family is an American political family of Scottish origin from Virginia. The progenitor of the Barbour family was James Barbour, who emigrated to Virginia from Scotland in the middle of the 17th century. Summary of notable members T ...

. His mother had also been related, by marriage, to the prominent Page and

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

families of Virginia. Bryan received his preparatory education there, subsequently becoming a student at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and later taking his degree in law at Columbian University (now

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

From 1879 to 1883 he practiced his profession in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and also took an active part in politics, being elected and serving as a Republican in the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...

in 1880. In 1883 he returned to his former home, Chicago, where he soon became a leader in State politics. He served as a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from 1888 to 1897, and also served on the staffs of three successive governors of the State, in each instance with the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In 1891 and 1892 he made tours of Europe in the interest of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

, making the acquaintance of many of the foremost rulers and statesmen of the countries visited. His diplomatic career really began in 1897, when he was appointed on November 10, 1897 to be minister to China by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. He took the oath of office in a recess appointment, but did not officially take office, and his nomination was withdrawn January 5, 1898 before the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

acted upon it. On January 19, he was appointed as

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of Diplomatic rank#Special envoy, diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an au ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He presented his credentials on April 11, 1898. In this role, he laid the firm foundation for the cordial relations between the United States and Brazil. He left the post on December 3, 1902. On September 2, 1902, he was commissioned during a recess appointment to serve as Minister to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He never served under this commission. Months later he was given the more important post of minister to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, where he remained for six years. He was appointed January 7, 1903, and presented his credentials on April 25, 1903. He left the post formally on January 16, 1910. On December 21, 1909 he was appointed to serve as minister to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He presented his credentials on February 10, 1910, and left the post on September 18, 1911. On August 12, 1911 he was appointed

ambassador to Japan The is the ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Beginning in 1854 with the use of gunboat diplomacy by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the U.S. has maintained diplomatic relations with Japan, except for the ten-year pe ...

. He presented his credentials on November 22, 1911, and left office October 1, 1912. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1912, and later made his home in Washington and Chicago, dividing his time between the two cities. He was a member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, of the Society of Foreign Wars, a veteran of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, and was a member of leading clubs in New York, Washington, and Chicago. He died in Washington, D.C., March 13, 1918. A lifelong

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, Bryan had never married. He was buried at the city's Oak Hill Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Charles Page 1855 births 1918 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil Ambassadors of the United States to Japan Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium Ambassadors of the United States to Portugal Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Barbour family Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) 19th-century American diplomats 20th-century American diplomats 19th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly 19th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly