U.S. Senators of the past
People who formerly served in the U.S. Senate, including both those who are still living and those who are deceased
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- A powerful representative and senator from the state of West Virginia, Robert Carlyle Byrd left an impressive mark on American politics. The longest serving senator in U.S. history with over 51 years in office, he was considered "the Dean of the Senate" - a true master of the body's arcane rules and procedures. He led the Senate Democrats from 1977-1986. A man of strong convictions, he made news in 2003 by leading criticism against President George W. Bush's Iraq war policies.West Virginia, 1959-2010
- Daniel Inouye served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he was President pro tempore of the United States Senate (third in the presidential line of succession) from 2010 until his death, making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in US history. Inouye also chaired various Senate Committees, including those on Intelligence, Commerce and Appropriations.
Daniel Inouye fought in World War II as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment. He lost his right arm to a grenade wound and received several military decorations, including the Medal of Honor (the nation's highest military award). Returning to Hawaii, Inouye earned a law degree, was elected to Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives in 1953, and was elected to the territorial Senate in 1957. When Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962. Inouye never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawaii politics.
Daniel Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Japanese American to serve in the U.S. Senate. Because of his seniority, Inouye became President pro tempore of the Senate following the death of Sen. Robert Byrd on June 29, 2010, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. At the time of his death, Inouye was the most senior sitting US senator, the second-oldest sitting US senator (seven and one-half months younger than Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey).
Inouye was a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Among other public structures, Honolulu International Airport has since been renamed Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in his honor.Hawaii, 1963-2012 - Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
Born on March 31, 1940, in Montpelier, Vermont, Patrick Leahy was elected to the United States Senate in 1974 and remains the only Democrat elected to this office from Vermont. As of 2021 he is president pro tempore of the Senate, being its most senior member, and as such is third in the line of succession to the US presidency. He chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and sits on the Agriculture, Judiciary, and Rules committees.
A lifelong Batman fan, Leahy has appeared in five films and one TV show about the Caped Crusader: he provided the voice for a territorial governor in the Old West on the animated series Batman: The Animated Series (1992), made a cameo appearance as himself in the Jungle Party sequence from Batman & Robin (1997), and appeared in Batman Forever (1995), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and The Dark Knight (2008) (where he says to Heath Ledger's Joker, "We're not intimidated by you thugs.") He also wrote an introduction for "The Dark Knight Archives," a 1992 compilation of Batman comics, and a preface for "Batman: Death of Innocents," a 1996 graphic novel about the dangers of land mines.
Patrick Leahy has been married to Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy since 1962. They have a daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren, and live in Middlesex, Vermont.Vermont, 1975-2023- Strom Thurmond is an American politician who served for 48 years as a United States Senator from South Carolina. He ran for president in 1948 as the States' Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes. Thurmond represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 until 2003, at first as a Southern Democrat and, after 1964, as a Republican.
Thurmond left office as the only member of either chamber of Congress to reach the age of 100 while still in office, and as the oldest-serving and longest-serving senator in U.S. history (although he was later surpassed in the latter by Robert Byrd and Daniel Inouye). Thurmond holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress to serve exclusively in the Senate. He is also the longest-serving Republican member of Congress in U.S. history. At 14 years, he was also the longest-serving Dean of the United States Senate in U.S. history.
In opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957, he conducted the longest speaking filibuster ever by a lone senator, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in length.South Carolina, 1954-1956, 1956-2003 - Edward Moore Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on February 22, 1932. His parents were Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Kennedy. He was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. "Ted" Kennedy graduated Harvard University in 1956 and the University of Virginia Law School in 1959. He campaigned for his brother John during the latter's 1960 presidential bid. Ted was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962 and held that position until his death. As a Senator, he had served as majority whip and chaired Senate committees. His rise was hampered by the Chappaquiddick Island incident on July 18, 1969, when he accidentally drove his car off a bridge, resulting in the drowning of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. He was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident. In 1980, he unsuccessfully challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination. In May of 2008, Kennedy experienced a stroke that resulted in hi being diagnosed with brain cancer. He remained active and endorsed President Barack Obama's candidacy early-on. He died at his family compound on Cape Cod in Hyannis, Massachusetts, August 25, 2009.Massachusetts, 1962-2009
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Orrin Hatch was born on 22 March 1934 in Homestead, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for Rat Race (2001), Traffic (2000) and Ocean's Twelve (2004). He was married to Elaine Hansen. He died on 23 April 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Utah, 1977-2019- Carl Hayden was born on 2 October 1877 in Hayden's Ferry [now Tempe], Arizona, USA. He was married to Nan Downing. He died on 25 January 1972 in Mesa, Arizona, USA.Arizona, 1927-1969
- John C. Stennis was born on 3 August 1901 in near DeKalb, Mississippi, USA. He was married to Coy Hines. He died on 23 April 1995 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA.Mississippi, 1947-1989
- Ted Stevens was born on 18 November 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was married to Catherine Ann Bittner Chandler and Ann Cherrington. He died on 9 August 2010 in Dillingham, Alaska, USA.Alaska, 1968-2009
- Additional Crew
Thad Cochran was born on 7 December 1937 in Pontotoc, Mississippi, USA. He is known for Inside Hurricane Katrina Update (2006), Save Our History (1998) and DBCRC Hearing on Military Base Closings (1995). He was married to Kay Webber and Rose Clayton. He died on 30 May 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi, USA.Mississippi, 1978-2018- Ernest F. Hollings was born on 1 January 1922 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. He was an actor, known for City Hall (1996), Bicentennial Minutes (1974) and 60 Minutes (1968). He was married to Rita Liddy and Martha Salley. He died on 6 April 2019 in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, USA.South Carolina, 1966-2005
- Richard B. Russell was born on 2 November 1897 in Winder, Georgia, USA. He died on 21 January 1971 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.Georgia, 1933-1971
- Russell Long was born on 3 November 1918 in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. He was married to Carolyn Bason and Katherine Mae Hattic. He died on 9 May 2003 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.Louisiana, 1948-1987
- James Eastland was born on 28 November 1904 in Doddsville, Mississippi, USA. He died on 19 February 1986 in Doddsville, Mississippi, USA.Mississippi, 1941, 1943-1978
- Warren Grant Magnuson is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1937-1944) and a U.S. Senator (1944-1981) from Washington. He served over 36 years in the Senate, and was the most senior member of the body during his final two years in office.
Warren Magnuson was born in Moorhead, Minnesota. Magnuson attended Moorhead High School, where he played quarterback on the football team and was captain of the baseball team. While attending high school, he ran a YMCA camp, worked in the wheat farms, and delivered newspapers and telegrams in Moorhead and in nearby Fargo, North Dakota. He graduated in 1923, and then enrolled at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. In 1924, he transferred to the North Dakota Agricultural College in Fargo, which he attended for a year.
Magnuson followed to Seattle, Washington, where he entered the University of Washington in 1925. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926, and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1929.Washington, 1944-1981 - Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States on January 20th 2021.
He is an actor, known for Parks and Recreation (2009), Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991) and Great Performances (1971). He has been married to Jill Biden since June 17, 1977. They have one child. He was previously married to Neilia Biden.Delaware, 1973-2009 - Claiborne Pell was born on 22 November 1918 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Nuala O'Donnell. He died on 1 January 2009 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.Rhode Island, 1961-1997
- Pete Domenici was born on 7 May 1932 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He was married to Nancy Burk. He died on 13 September 2017 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.New Mexico, 1973-2009
- Richard Lugar was born on 4 April 1932 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Janie (1963), PBS NewsHour (1975) and Have You Heard from Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West (2006). He was married to Charlene Smeltzer. He died on 28 April 2019 in Falls Church, Virginia, USA.Indiana, 1977-2013
- Carl Levin was born on 28 June 1934 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was married to Barbara Halpern. He died on 29 July 2021 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.Michigan, 1979-2015
- Richard Shelby was born on 6 May 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. He has been married to Annette Nevin since 1960. They have three children.Alabama, 1987-2023
- Allen J. Ellender Sr. was born on 24 September 1890 in Montegut, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for New Orleans Uncensored (1955) and Longines Chronoscope (1951). He died on 27 July 1972 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.Louisiana, 1937-1972
- Max Baucus was born on 11 December 1941 in Helena, Montana, USA. He has been married to Melodee Hanes since 2011. He was previously married to Wanda Minge and Garacimos, Ann.Montana, 1978-2014
- John L. McClellan was born on 25 February 1896 in Sheridan, Arkansas, USA. He died on 28 November 1977 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.Arkansas, 1943-1977
- Walter F. George was born on 29 January 1878 in Preston, Georgia, USA. He died on 4 August 1957 in Vienna, Georgia, USA.Georgia, 1922-1957