James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce
(1838-1922), Jurist, historian and Liberal politician; MP for Tower Hamlets and Aberdeen SouthSitter in 15 portraits
A Fellow at Oxford University, Bryce came to prominence as a historian through his 1864 work The Holy Roman Empire. His Essays on Reform was hugely successful, running through sixty-five editions by 1958. He was called to the Bar in 1867 and practised law in London for a few years, before returning to Oxford as Regius Professor of Civil Law. An ardent Liberal, he was elected to parliament in 1880 where he served in a number of senior posts including President of the Board of Trade. In 1905 the Liberals were re-elected after a decade in opposition. Bryce was made Chief Secretary for Ireland and swiftly thereafter was appointed British Ambassador to the United States of America.
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