 cecil farris bryant (july 26, 1914 &ndash; march 1, 2002) was the 34th governor of florida. he also served on the united states national security council and in the office of emergency planning during the administration of president lyndon b. johnson. ==background== born in marion county, florida, bryant graduated from ocala high school before attending emory university in atlanta, georgia, from 1931 to 1932. he completed his undergraduate studies at the university of florida in gainesville in 1935 with a business degree. at florida, he was a member of florida blue key, the alpha tau omega social fraternity, and the alpha kappa psi business fraternity.alpha phi chapter roll he continued his education at harvard university in cambridge, massachusetts, from which he earned a law degree in 1938. after completing his education, he went to work in the office of the state comptroller, where he met his future wife, julia burnett.  ==political life== in 1942, bryant ran successfully for a seat in the florida house of representatives and won. he resigned the seat to join the armed services during world war ii, in which he served in the united states navy as a gunnery and antisubmarine officer in the north atlantic, mediterranean, and pacific. in 1946, he was again elected to his seat, and served five consecutive terms until 1956. he was speaker of the florida house of representatives in 1953. his uncle, ion farris, was also a former state house speaker. in 1960, he was elected governor and took the oath of office on january 3, 1961. bryant was a segregationist like most other florida politicians at the time, with the notable exception of his predecessor,{{cite web|url=http://www.collinscenter.org/page/leroycollins |title=f
1914_births 2002_deaths American_military_personnel_of_World_War_II Democratic_Party_state_governors_of_the_United_States Emory_University_alumni Florida_Democrats Governors_of_Florida Harvard_Law_School_alumni Members_of_the_Florida_House_of_Representatives Ocala_High_School_alumni Politicians_from_Ocala,_Florida Speakers_of_the_Florida_House_of_Representatives United_States_National_Security_Council_staffers United_States_Navy_officers University_of_Florida_alumni