Nathan P. Bryan

Born on April 23, 1872, in Fort Mason, Orange County (now Lake County), Florida,[1] Bryan attended the common schools.[2] He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1893 from Emory College and a Bachelor of Laws in 1895 from Washington and Lee University School of Law.[1] He was admitted to the bar and entered private practice in Jacksonville, Florida from 1893 to 1911.[1] He was Chairman of the Board of Control of the Florida State institutions of higher education from 1905 to 1909.[2]

Bryan was appointed by the Governor of Florida on February 22, 1911, the Florida State Legislature having failed to elect, and subsequently elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1917.[2] He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1916.[2] He was Chairman of the Committee on Claims for the 63rd and 64th United States Congresses.[2] He returned to private practice in Jacksonville from 1917 to 1920.[2] He declined appointment as Governor General of the Philippine Islands by President Wilson in 1917.[2] He was a trustee of Emory University.[2]

Bryan was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson on April 23, 1920, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated by Judge R. L. Batts.[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 23, 1920, and received his commission the same day.[1] He was a member of the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges (now the Judicial Conference of the United States) from 1930 to 1934.[1] His service terminated on August 8, 1935,[1] due to his death in Jacksonville.[2] He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville.[2]

Bryan's brother was William James Bryan, also a United States senator from Florida.[2]

• United States Congress. "Nathan P. Bryan (id: B000992)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Nathan Philemon Bryan at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.