(Tuesday, June 8, 1915, shortly after 3:00 p.m. EST; during World War I) — William Jennings Bryan, three times Democratic nominee for the presidency and author of nearly thirty peace treaties with the principal nations of the world, resigned today (effective June 9, 1915) as U.S. Secretary of State over what he viewed as President Woodrow Wilson’s overly bellicose attitude toward Germany following the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.

Video: 'W.J. Bryan, Secretary of State (1915)'