Brantz Mayer (1809-1879) was an American author. After graduating at St. Mary's College, Baltimore, he sailed for the East, visiting Java, Sumatra, and China, and returned in 1828. Mayer studied law during this long voyage, and on his return home he entered the law school of the University of Maryland and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He practiced law from 1832 until 1841, when he was appointed secretary of legation to Mexico, where he remained a year. Mayer was secretary of the United States