Congressman Robert ByrdNov 20th, 1917 – June 28th 2010

Longest serving Congressman in History - 57 years

Robert Byrd has been a fixture in Congress since 1953. He is known for being a fierce advocate for West Virginia.

Longest Congressional term in History

• When Robert Byrd came to Congress from West Virginia, a postage stamp cost 3 cents and kids were clamoring for a new toy called Mr. Potato Head.

• On Wednesday, almost 57 years later, Byrd became the longest-serving member of Congress in history.

Putting in the Time!

• Two days before he turns 92, the eloquent legislator known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Senate rules and history surpasses Carl T. Hayden, the Arizona Democrat who served a total of 20,773 days in the U.S. House and Senate.

• Representing West Virginia -- six years in House and then nearly 51 years and counting in the Senate

Beginning to End

• His early political years displayed some of the deeply rooted racism of the American South. Byrd was a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan in the early 1940s, and later called it "the most egregious mistake I've ever made.“

• His only regret, he said, was that his wife, Erma, who died in 2006, would not be with him.

When He Started• 57 years ago was 1952 and these things were

going on.– Today Show premiers– The first commercial jet plane, the BOAC's Comet, is

put into service.– United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill

announces that his nation has an atomic bomb.– Yankee Mickey Mantle was a Rookie.– The manga Astro Boy debuts in the monthly

magazine Shōnen.– Puerto Rico's Constitution is approved by the

Congress of the United States.

When He Started, Continued

• The 15th Olympic Games begin in Helsinki, Finland.• The US bars Charlie Chaplin from reentering the country

after a trip to England• The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen

bomb, codenamed "Mike" , at Eniwetok island in the Bikini atoll located in the Pacific Ocean.

• Korean War: US president-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.

• The Abbott and Costello Show starring comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, debuts.

• The Diary of Anne Frank is published.• Sharon Osbourne, British wife and manager

of Ozzy Osbourne • Jeff Goldblum, American actor • Bill Walton, American basketball player and

commentator

1952