Frederick van Pelt Bryan

Frederick van Pelt Bryan (April 27, 1904 – April 17, 1978) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Frederick van Pelt Bryan
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office
April 1, 1972 – April 17, 1978
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office
June 19, 1956 – April 1, 1972
Appointed byDwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded byWilliam Bondy
Succeeded byRobert Joseph Ward
Personal details
Born
Frederick van Pelt Bryan

(1904-04-27)April 27, 1904
Brooklyn, New York
DiedApril 17, 1978(1978-04-17) (aged 73)
New York City, New York
EducationColumbia College (A.B.)
Columbia Law School (LL.B.)

Education and career edit

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bryan received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Columbia College in 1925 and a Bachelor of Laws from Columbia Law School in 1928.[1][2] He was in private practice in New York City from 1928 to 1933. He was an assistant corporation counsel in New York City from 1933 to 1937, and a first assistant corporation counsel from 1938 to 1942.

He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He was initially commissioned as a first lieutenant and rose to the rank of colonel by the end of his service. He served in Europe and the Mediterranean, and received the Legion of Merit, the Croix de Guerre and the Order of the British Empire.

After the war, he returned to private practice in New York City from 1946 to 1956. He was a member of the Temporary State Commission to Study the Organizational Structure of the Government of the City of New York from 1953 to 1954, and was counsel to the Temporary Commission on the Courts of the State of New York from 1954 to 1956.[3]

Federal judicial service edit

On May 18, 1956, Bryan was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge William Bondy. Bryan was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 13, 1956, and received his commission on June 19, 1956. He assumed senior status on April 1, 1972, serving in that capacity until his death on April 17, 1978, in New York City.[3]

Notable case edit

Bryan authored the opinion holding that D.H.Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was not obscene, based on its "redeeming social or literary value", introducing a standard henceforth upheld by the Supreme Court.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Columbia Spectator 14 May 1962 — Columbia Spectator". spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  2. ^ Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development; Columbia College (Columbia University) (1958). Columbia College today. Columbia University Libraries. New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.
  3. ^ a b Frederick van Pelt Bryan at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  4. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (18 April 1978). "Judge Frederick Bryan Dies at 73; Ended Ban on 'Chatterley' Novel". The New York Times.

Sources edit

Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
1956–1972
Succeeded by