Bryant, William B.
1911-2005 · Contribution: 1977
First African American chief judge of a U.S. District Court

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African American to serve as chief judge of a United States District Court in 1977, leading the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Life & background
Admitted to the bar in 1939, Bryant became the first African American chief judge of a U.S. District Court in 1977, leading the federal trial court for the District of Columbia.
Sources
- Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit (oral history); Washington Post obituary (Nov 15, 2005)
More in Law & Civil Rights
Allen, Macon Bolling
1816-1894
First African American lawyer in the United States (1844); among the earliest Black judicial officeholders (Justice of the Peace, 1847)
Bedford, Louis A. Jr.
1926-2014
First African American judge in Dallas County, Texas
Bolin, Jane Matilda
1908-2007
First Black woman to become a judge in the United States
Booker, Cory Anthony
1969-
First African American U.S. senator from New Jersey