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This page contains a list of the individuals who, at the time of their deaths, had served at the earliest date in the United States House of Representatives among those current or former Representatives then living and a list of the earliest serving United States Representatives among those currently living (sitting or former).
This is a list of the representatives who were, while in office or after, the earliest-serving living before they died.
| Begin Date | End Date | Representative | State | 1st Entered House |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 4, 1789 | August 24, 1833 | Tie between the 59 original members of the 1st United States House of Representatives while alive. | March 4, 1789 | |
| August 24, 1833 | August 29, 1837 | John Brown | Virginia | |
| August 29, 1837 | September 21, 1842 | Jeremiah Smith | New Hampshire | March 4, 1791 |
| September 21, 1842 | March 6, 1844 | Gabriel Duvall | Maryland | November 11, 1794 |
| March 6, 1844 | August 12, 1849 | Albert Gallatin | Pennsylvania | March 4, 1795 |
| August 12, 1849 | November 1, 1849 | Elizur Goodrich | Connecticut | March 4, 1799 |
| November 1, 1849 | May 6, 1860 | Littleton Waller Tazewell | Virginia | November 26, 1800 |
| May 6, 1860 | July 18, 1872 | Samuel Thatcher | Massachusetts | December 6, 1802 |
| July 18, 1872 | November 1, 1874 | Enos T. Throop | New York | March 4, 1815 |
| November 1, 1874 | May 10, 1875 | Willard Hall | Delaware | March 4, 1817 |
| May 10, 1875 | October 7, 1883 | Mark Alexander | Virginia | March 4, 1819 |
| October 7, 1883 | December 18, 1885 | Hiland Hall | Vermont | January 1, 1833 |
| December 18, 1885 | May 30, 1888 | John James Pearson | Pennsylvania | December 5, 1836 |
| May 30, 1888 | May 11, 1889 | Henry A. Foster | New York | March 4, 1837 |
| May 6, 1890 | Hiram Gray | New York | ||
| May 13, 1890 | Amasa J. Parker | New York | ||
| January 11, 1892 | Richard P. Marvin | New York | ||
| June 11, 1894 | John T. Andrews | New York | ||
| June 11, 1894 | November 16, 1894 | Robert Charles Winthrop | Massachusetts | November 9, 1840 |
| November 16, 1894 | February 9, 1900 | Richard W. Thompson | Indiana | March 4, 1841 |
| February 9, 1900 | September 20, 1900 | John Alexander McClernand | Illinois | March 4, 1843 |
| April 22, 1903 | Alexander Ramsey | Pennsylvania | ||
| April 22, 1903 | July 10, 1903 | Ausburn Birdsall | New York | March 4, 1847 |
| July 10, 1903 | April 5, 1904 | John Houston Savage | Tennessee | March 4, 1849 |
| May 19, 1907 | Andrew J. Harlan | Indiana | ||
| May 19, 1907 | February 4, 1909 | Addison White | Kentucky | March 4, 1851 |
| February 4, 1909 | January 30, 1912 | James C. Allen | Illinois | March 4, 1853 |
| January 30, 1912 | May 26, 1912 | John Jamison Pearce | Pennsylvania | March 4, 1855 |
| May 26, 1912 | May 3, 1914 | Daniel Sickles | New York | March 4, 1857 |
| March 12, 1916 | George William Palmer | New York | ||
| March 12, 1916 | March 14, 1919 | Roger Atkinson Pryor | Virginia | December 7, 1859 |
| March 14, 1919 | November 3, 1924 | Cornelius Cole | California | March 4, 1863 |
| November 3, 1924 | March 15, 1926 | Jackson Orr | Iowa | March 4, 1871 |
| March 15, 1926 | November 12, 1926 | Joseph Gurney Cannon | Illinois | March 4, 1873 |
| December 6, 1926 | Ira B. Hyde | Missouri | ||
| August 14, 1928 | William J. Purman | Florida | ||
| September 4, 1930 | Frederick George Bromberg | Alabama | ||
| May 22, 1931 | Henry Otis Pratt | Iowa | ||
| November 2, 1939 | John R. Lynch | Mississippi | ||
| November 2, 1939 | May 25, 1947 | Perry Belmont | New York | March 4, 1881 |
| May 25, 1947 | July 29, 1948 | James Eli Watson | Indiana | March 4, 1895 |
| October 2, 1950 | John F. Fitzgerald | Massachusetts | ||
| October 22, 1954 | Harrison Henry Atwood | Massachusetts | ||
| October 22, 1954 | February 22, 1960 | Townsend Scudder | New York | March 4, 1899 |
| March 24, 1961 | Mitchell May | New York | ||
| March 24, 1961 | November 7, 1967 | John Nance Garner | Texas | March 4, 1903 |
| November 7, 1967 | April 9, 1972 | James F. Byrnes | South Carolina | March 4, 1911 |
| April 9, 1972 | June 1, 1981 | Carl Vinson | Georgia | November 3, 1914 |
| June 1, 1981 | January 18, 1991 | Hamilton Fish III | New York | November 2, 1920 |
| January 18, 1991 | October 10, 1991 | Victor Christgau | Minnesota | March 4, 1929 |
| October 10, 1991 | May 15, 1994 | Robert T. Secrest | Ohio | March 4, 1933 |
| May 8, 1998 | Jennings Randolph | West Virginia | ||
| May 8, 1998 | January 24, 2000 | Carl Curtis | Nebraska | January 3, 1939 |
| January 24, 2000 | October 18, 2004 | Edwin Arthur Hall | New York | November 7, 1939 |
| October 18, 2004 | August 13, 2005 | William Jennings Bryan Dorn | South Carolina | January 3, 1947 |
| January 20, 2007 | George Smathers | Florida | ||
| January 20, 2007 | April 17, 2007 | Steven Derounian | New York | January 3, 1953 |
| June 16, 2009 | Paul A. Fino | New York | ||
| March 6, 2010 | Stuyvesant Wainwright | New York | ||
| June 28, 2010 | Robert Byrd | West Virginia | ||
| May 23, 2011 | Peter Frelinghuysen Jr. | New Jersey | ||
| June 27, 2011 | Richard Harding Poff | Virginia | ||
| August 20, 2011 | Charles Gubser | California | ||
| May 23, 2012 | William C. Wampler | Virginia | ||
| December 4, 2012 | Jack Brooks | Texas | ||
| April 3, 2016 | Clarence Clifton Young | Nevada | ||
| November 16, 2016 | Melvin R. Laird | Wisconsin | ||
| November 16, 2016 | February 7, 2019 | John Dingell | Michigan | December 13, 1955 |
| February 7, 2019 | February 20, 2019 | William Broomfield | Michigan | January 3, 1957 |
| present | Merwin Coad | Iowa | ||
| Harry G. Haskell Jr. | Delaware | |||
This is a list of the currently living members, sitting or former, who first entered the House at least 50 years ago.
| Rank | Member | Date of birth | Entered House | Left House | State | Party | Time since entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merwin Coad | September 28, 1924 | January 3, 1957 | January 3, 1963 | Iowa | Democratic | 62 years, 356 days |
| Harry G. Haskell Jr. | May 27, 1921 | January 3, 1959 | Delaware | Republican | |||
| 3 | Al Quie | September 18, 1923 | February 18, 1958 | January 3, 1979 | Minnesota | Republican | 61 years, 310 days |
| 4 | Neal Edward Smith | March 23, 1920 | January 3, 1959 | January 3, 1995 | Iowa | Democratic | 60 years, 356 days |
| 5 | Bob Dole | July 22, 1923 | January 3, 1961 | January 3, 1969 | Kansas | Republican | 58 years, 356 days |
| 6 | Lucien Nedzi | May 28, 1925 | November 7, 1961 | January 3, 1981 | Michigan | Democratic | 58 years, 48 days |
| 7 | Bill Brock | November 23, 1930 | January 3, 1963 | January 3, 1971 | Tennessee | Republican | 56 years, 356 days |
| Jim Broyhill | August 19, 1927 | July 14, 1986 | North Carolina | Republican | |||
| Ed Foreman | December 22, 1933 | January 3, 1965 | Texas | Republican | |||
| Don Fuqua | August 20, 1933 | January 3, 1987 | Florida | Democratic | |||
| Alec G. Olson | September 11, 1930 | January 3, 1967 | Minnesota | Democratic | |||
| Donald Rumsfeld | July 9, 1932 | March 20, 1969 | Illinois | Republican | |||
| 13 | Mark Andrews | May 19, 1926 | October 22, 1963 | January 3, 1981 | North Dakota | Republican | 56 years, 64 days |
| 14 | William J. Green III | June 24, 1938 | April 28, 1964 | January 3, 1977 | Pennsylvania | Democratic | 55 years, 241 days |
| 15 | Lee H. Hamilton | April 20, 1931 | January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1999 | Indiana | Democratic | 54 years, 356 days |
| Richard Ottinger | January 27, 1929 | January 3, 1971 | New York | Democratic | |||
| Gale Schisler | March 2, 1933 | January 3, 1967 | Illinois | Democratic | |||
| Weston E. Vivian | October 25, 1924 | January 3, 1967 | Michigan | Democratic | |||
| Lester L. Wolff | January 4, 1919 | January 3, 1981 | New York | Democratic | |||
| 20 | Edwin Edwards | August 7, 1927 | October 2, 1965 | May 9, 1972 | Louisiana | Democratic | 54 years, 84 days |
| 21 | Bud Brown | June 18, 1927 | November 2, 1965 | January 3, 1983 | Ohio | Republican | 54 years, 53 days |
| 22 | David Pryor | August 29, 1934 | November 8, 1966 | January 3, 1973 | Arkansas | Democratic | 53 years, 47 days |
| 23 | Edward G. Biester Jr. | January 5, 1931 | January 3, 1967 | January 3, 1977 | Pennsylvania | Republican | 52 years, 356 days |
| Benjamin B. Blackburn | February 14, 1927 | January 3, 1975 | Georgia | Republican | |||
| Nick Galifianakis | July 22, 1928 | January 3, 1973 | North Carolina | Democratic | |||
| James C. Gardner | April 8, 1933 | January 3, 1969 | North Carolina | Republican | |||
| Jack H. McDonald | June 28, 1932 | January 3, 1973 | Michigan | Republican | |||
| Tom Railsback | January 22, 1932 | January 3, 1983 | Illinois | Republican | |||
| Donald Riegle | February 4, 1938 | December 30, 1976 | Michigan | Republican, Democratic | |||
| Philip Ruppe | September 29, 1926 | January 3, 1979 | Michigan | Republican | |||
| W. S. Stuckey Jr. | May 25, 1935 | January 3, 1977 | Georgia | Democratic | |||
| Fletcher Thompson | February 5, 1925 | January 3, 1973 | Georgia | Republican | |||
| 33 | Pete McCloskey | September 29, 1927 | December 12, 1967 | January 3, 1983 | California | Republican | 52 years, 13 days |
| 34 | Bill Alexander | January 16, 1934 | January 3, 1969 | January 3, 1993 | Arkansas | Democratic | 50 years, 356 days |
| Bill Clay | April 30, 1931 | January 3, 2001 | Missouri | Democratic | |||
| James W. Symington | September 28, 1927 | January 3, 1977 | Missouri | Democratic | |||
| Lowell Weicker | May 16, 1931 | January 3, 1971 | Connecticut | Republican | |||
| G. William Whitehurst | March 12, 1925 | January 3, 1987 | Virginia | Republican | |||
| 39 | Dave Obey | October 3, 1938 | April 1, 1969 | January 3, 2011 | Wisconsin | Democratic | 50 years, 268 days |
| 40 | Barry Goldwater Jr. | July 15, 1938 | April 29, 1969 | January 3, 1983 | California | Republican | 50 years, 240 days |
| 41 | Michael J. Harrington | September 2, 1936 | September 30, 1969 | January 3, 1979 | Massachusetts | Democratic | 50 years, 86 days |
Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously-serving member, while in others it refers to the oldest member. Recently, the title Mother of the House or Mother of Parliament has also been used, although the usage varies between countries; it is either the female alternative to Father of the House, being applied when the relevant member is a woman, or refers to the oldest or longest-serving woman without reference to male members.
These are tables of congressional delegations from Minnesota to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
The Dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of the House. The current Dean is Don Young, a Republican Party representative from Alaska who has served since 1973, and is the first Republican Dean in more than eighty years, as well as the first from Alaska. The Dean is a symbolic post whose only customary duty is to swear in a Speaker of the House after he or she is elected. The Dean comes forward on the House Floor to administer the oath to the Speaker-elect, before the new Speaker then administers the oath to the other members.
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The Dean of the United States Senate is an informal term for the Senator with the longest continuous service, regardless of party affiliation. This is not an official position within the Senate, although customarily the longest-serving member of the majority party serves as President pro tempore.
United States senators are conventionally ranked by the length of their tenure in the Senate. The senator in each U.S. state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator; the other is the junior senator. This convention has no official standing, though seniority confers several benefits, including preference in the choice of committee assignments and physical offices. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers, including previous offices held, are used to determine seniority.
This is an incomplete list of lists pertaining to the United States Congress.
This page contains a list of the earliest serving United States senators among those currently living and a list of those who, at the time of their deaths, had served at the earliest date in the United States Senate among those current or former senators then living. Of those living, the earliest-serving senator is Fred R. Harris. He was sworn in as a senator on November 4, 1964.