S. Otis Bland

Who was S. Otis Bland?

Schuyler Otis Bland was a United States Representative from Virginia. Born near Gloucester, Virginia, he attended the Gloucester Academy and the College of William and Mary. He was a teacher and a lawyer in private practice, and was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative William A. Jones. He was reelected to the Sixty-sixth and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses, serving from July 2, 1918 to February 16, 1950. While in the House, he was chair of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. The United States Merchant Marine Academy Library is named in his honor.

Bland died in Bethesda, Maryland and was interred in Greenlawn Cemetery, Newport News, Virginia.

Schuyler Otis Bland was born May 4, 1872, on a farm in Gloucester County. His father, Schuyler Bland, a Confederate soldier, died a few years later. Educated at first by tutors, young Schuyler Otis entered Gloucester Academy at the age of 12 and afterwards matriculated at the College of William and Mary. During his senior year, he served as instructor in history, Latin and English. He won his Phi Beta Kappa key, but arranged his courses for the study of law, instead of working toward a degree.