Siblings William Jennings Bryan Preceded by Samuel R. McKelvie | Lieutenant Fred G. Johnson Spouse Mary Brokaw (m. 1892) Name Charles Bryan | |
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Lieutenant Theodore MetcalfeWalter H. Jurgensen Role Former Governor of Nebraska Parents Silas Bryan, Mariah Elizabeth Bryan Similar People William Jennings Bryan, Silas Bryan, Ruth Bryan Owen | ||
Succeeded by Robert Leroy Cochran | ||
Charles W. Bryan | Wikipedia audio article
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.
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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. 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 1935 to 1937).
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.
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.
Death
Bryan died on March 4, 1945 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is interred at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln.