WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

William Jennings Bryan was an American orator and politician from the 1890s to the 1920s. Amazingly he ran for President of the United States three times, all unsuccessfully! He was a defender of the "common man", and he gave a speech at a Presidential convention now known as the "Cross of Gold" speech, urging America to go off the gold standard. He was a dominant force in the Democratic Party, served as the U.S. Secretary Of State under Woodrow Wilson, and was often called "The Great Commoner". He passed away in 1925 at the age of 65