Robert Byrd

Robert Carlyle Byrd was an American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 1959 until his death in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd previously U.S. representative from 1953 to 1959, representing West Virginia's 6th congressional district. He remains the longest-serving U.S. senator in history, and was also the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress until he was surpassed by Representative John Dingell of Michigan.