Viscount Bryce
Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount (1838–1922), a British historian, statesman, diplomat, and jurist. He combined an active public life with work as scholar and brilliant political analyst. Bryce was an ardent traveler, an amateur mountain climber, and an astute observer of the world around him. The American Commonwealth (2 volumes, 1888) is an outstanding work on American politics and government. His earlier, equally impressive book, The Holy Roman Empire (1864), covers 1,000 years of history in a single volume.
Bryce was born in Belfast, Ireland, to Scottish parents and studied at Glasgow and Oxford universities. He practiced law, and taught civil law at Oxford from 1870 to 1893. He entered Parliament in 1880 as a Liberal and was a party leader for 27 years. Bryce held various government positions from 1886 to 1906. He was ambassador to the United States, 1907–13. Bryce was appointed to the Hague Tribunal in 1913. He was created viscount in 1914.
His books include Impressions of South Africa (1897); Studies in History and Jurisprudence (1901); Studies in Contemporary Biography (1903); South America (1912); Modern Democracies (2 volumes, 1922).