Louis Jefferson Brann was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer and political figure. He was the 56th Governor of Maine

Governor of Maine

The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....

.

Early life

Brann was born in Madison, Maine to Charles M. Brann and Nancy Lancaster Brann. He attended schools in Gardiner, Maine

Gardiner, Maine

Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,198 at the 2000 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture.-History:...

. He graduated from the University of Maine

University of Maine

The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...

 in 1898, after which he studied Law. He was admitted to the bar in 1902 and began his law practice at that time. In the late 1920s he formed (with Peter A. Isaacson) Brann & Isaacson, a law firm which is still in existence (2010).

On 8 March Brann married Martha Cobb.

Brann participated widely in local government activity; he was the Androscoggin County Register of Probate (1909-1913); a municipal judge (1913-1915); mayor of Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston, Maine

Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...

 (1915-1917 and 1922-1925); member of Maine state house of representatives from Androscoggin County (1919-1920); delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maine (1924, 1936, 1940 and 1944). He also served a term as chairman of the Maine Democratic Party.

Governor of Maine

Brann was nominated by the Democratic Party for the governorship of Maine in 1932, and won the election. He was also successful in his re-election bid in 1934. During his administration, a constitutional amendment was sanctioned that secured two million dollars in state bonds for emergency relief. He did not seek re-election in 1936, instead running for the US Senate that year. He was unsuccessful in that campaign, and he left the Governor's office on 6 January 1937. He ran for the governorship again in 1938, but was unsuccessful.

Later years

Brann ran for the United States Senate in 1936. He was the candidate of the Democratic Party. However, the Republican candidate, Wallace H. White, Jr.

Wallace H. White, Jr.

Wallace Humphrey White, Jr. was a prominent American politician and Republican leader in United States Congress from 1916 until 1949. White was from the U.S. state of Maine and served in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S...

 won the election. He strove to regain the Governor's seat in 1938, but was unsuccessful. Brann then ran for the other Maine Senate seat in 1940, against Republican Owen Brewster

Owen Brewster

Ralph Owen Brewster was an American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican, was solidly conservative...

, but was again unsuccessful.

Brann was a candidate for Maine's 1st District to the US House of Representatives in 1942, but lost to the Republican candidate.

Brann was a member of the Church of Christ, Scientist

Church of Christ, Scientist

The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...

, and held membership in Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...

, Knights of Pythias

Knights of Pythias

The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...

, Elks

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...

, National Grange, and Lions Club.

Brann died on 3 February 1948. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery

Riverside Cemetery (Lewiston, Maine)

Riverside Cemetery is a cemetery in Lewiston, Maine. The cemetery is located on the bank of the Androscoggin River which flows through Lewiston. In August 2010, the cemetery was heavily vandalized, with many headstones knocked over and some destroyed....

in Lewiston.