William Cabell Bruce
United States Senator fromMaryland
In office March 4, 1923 – March 4, 1929
Preceded by	Joseph I. France
Succeeded by	Phillips L. Goldsborough
Member of theMaryland Senate
In office 1894-1896
Personal details
Born	(1860-03-12)March 12, 1860 Staunton Hill,Charlotte County,Virginia, U.S.
Died	May 9, 1946(1946-05-09) (aged 86) Ruxton,Maryland
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Louise Este Fisher ​ (m. 1887)​
Children	4 sons

William Cabell Bruce (March 12, 1860 – May 9, 1946) was an American politician andPulitzer Prize-winning writer who represented theState of Maryland in theUnited States Senate from 1923 to 1929.

Bruce was born atStaunton Hill inCharlotte County, Virginia to Charles and Sarah Alexander (Seddon) Bruce (a sister ofJames Seddon), and received an academic education at Norwood High School and College inNelson County, Virginia. He later attended theUniversity of Virginia where he bestedWoodrow Wilson in both a highly contested formal debate and an essay competition.^[1] In 1882, he graduated from theUniversity of Maryland School of Law.

Bruce was admitted to the Marylandbar the same year and commenced law practice inBaltimore, Maryland. In addition to his career in law, Bruce was also writer, and received aPulitzer Prize in 1918 for his bookBenjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed.^[2]

Bruce began his political career in theMaryland Senate, serving from 1894 to 1896, and was appointed as president of the Senate in 1896. He served as head of the city law department of Baltimore from 1903 to 1908; as a member of the Baltimore Charter Commission in 1910; and as general counsel to theMaryland Public Service Commission from 1910 to 1922, at which time he resigned.

Bruce was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator in 1916, but achieved election six years later in theelection of 1922. Bruce was defeated in the nextelection in 1928 by RepublicanPhillips Lee Goldsborough, and resumed the practice of law in Baltimore until 1937, when he retired.

Bruce married Louise Este Fisher on October 15, 1887. They had four sons, William Fisher Bruce,James Cabell Bruce, William Cabell Bruce, andDavid K. E. Bruce.

He died inRuxton, Maryland, on May 9, 1946. He is buried at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church Cemetery inGarrison, Maryland.

• Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed: A Biographical Sketch and Critical Study Based Mainly on His Own Writings; New York, London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1917. (Available online:Vol. I,Vol. II.)
• Below the James: A Plantation Sketch; New York: The Neale Publishing Company, 1918. (Availableonline.)
• John Randolph of Roanoke, 1773–1833; A Biography Based Largely on New Material, in 2 volumes; New York, London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. (Available online:Vol. I,Vol. II.)
• Imaginary Conversations with Franklin, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1933.
• Recollections: and, The Inn of Existence, 1936.
• The Negro problem at theInternet Archive (1891)

• James Cabell Bruce
• David K. E. Bruce

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• United States Congress."William Cabell Bruce (id: B000972)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Works by or about William Cabell Bruce at theInternet Archive
• Biography at the Maryland State Archives
• William Cabell Bruce atFind a Grave
• Works by William Cabell Bruce atLibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

• 1860 births
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• Democratic Party Maryland state senators
• Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners
• University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni
• Democratic Party United States senators from Maryland
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• Politicians from Baltimore
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