Thomas Ryan (November 25, 1837 – April 5, 1914) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer from Kansas.
Formative years
Born in Oxford, New York on November 25, 1837, Ryan moved to Bradford County, Pennsylvania with his parents, attended Dickinson Seminary in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1861.
During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army from 1862 to 1864.
Career
Following his military service, Ryan moved to Topeka, Kansas, where he served as prosecuting attorney of Shawnee County, Kansas from 1865 to 1873. He was then appointed as an assistant United States Attorney for Kansas from 1873 to 1877.
In 1876, he was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives. After serving in that capacity from 1877 to 1889, he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico by President Benjamin Harrison in 1889, a post he held until 1893.
In 1897, Ryan was appointed as Assistant Secretary of the Interior by President William McKinley. He served in that capacity until 1907 when he was sent to Muskogee, Oklahoma as the personal resident representative of the Secretary of the Interior. He held that post until his death.
Death and inerment
Ryan died in Muskogee on April 5, 1914. His body was returned to Topeka, Kansas and interred in the Topeka Cemetery.
External links
Retrieved on 2008-02-14
1837 births
1914 deaths
People from Oxford, New York
People from Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lawyers
People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War
Union Army soldiers
Politicians from Topeka, Kansas
Kansas lawyers
District attorneys in Kansas
Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico
Politicians from Muskogee, Oklahoma
19th-century American diplomats
Oklahoma Republicans
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers People buried in Topeka Cemetery