Educated at the University of Glasgow, the University of Heidelberg and Trinity College, Oxford, Bryce was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1867 and proceeded to practice law until 1870. He returned to Oxford as Regius Professor of Civil Law and also became professor of jurisprudence at Owen's College in Manchester. He left Owen's in 1875, but continued to teach at Oxford until 1893. In 1880, he was elected to parliament as a Liberal and continued as an MP for various constituencies until 1907 when he became the British Ambassador to the USA. On his return to England in 1913 he was awarded the title of Viscount and joined the House of Lords. In 1915, he was responsible for the report on German atrocities in Belgium, known as the Bryce Report (See Documents - UK). That year he also collaborated with former president Howard Taft to produce a book on Washington, DC. In his later years, he served on the International Court at the Hague. He was president of the British Academy from 1913 to 1917. During Bryce's many years in politics, he was also a considerable author, producing works as diverse as biographies, natural history, education, politics and history. His works include The Flora of the Island of Aran (1859), The Holy Roman Empire (1864), Transcaucasia and Ararat (1877), The American Commonwealth (1888), Impressions of South Africa (1897), Studies in History and Jurisprudence (1901), South America: Observations and Impressions (1912) and Modern Democracies (1921).
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