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WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the longest-serving member of Congress in history, died Monday, his office said. He was 92. Byrd served 51 years in the Senate following six in the House, a congressional career that began when Dwight D. Eisenhower took the presidential oath in 1953.
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The senator died after more serious issues developed following his admittance to Inova Fairfax Hospital last week for heat exhaustion, The Washington Post reported.
Byrd grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia as an orphan to become the most powerful man in the Senate when Democrats were in power.
He was jostled from his position as majority leader in 1980 when Republicans won the Senate in the landslide that put Ronald Reagan in the White House. Byrd then became minority leader until his party regained control of the Senate in 1986 and he was re-elected majority leader of the 100th Congress on Nov. 20.
Byrd, who wore his ability to deliver jobs and projects to West Virginia as a badge of honor, won his post because of his meticulous attention to detail, not force of leadership, political observers said. He cultivated favors by keeping senators informed about floor debate and upcoming votes, helping them introduce amendments and showing his colleagues elaborate courtesy.
In 1971, Byrd called in favors, stunning Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., by being elected majority whip, the Democrats' No. 2 leadership position. Six years later, he fended off an effort to install former Sen. Hubert Humphrey, D-Minn., as majority leader and won the job.
Byrd's mastery of Senate rules and procedure was said to be second to none. His attention to detail paid off during the Watergate scandal when he maneuvered L. Patrick Gray to admit John Dean "probably lied," which motivated Dean's determination to unravel the truth.
Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C., Nov. 20, 1917. His mother died when he was 10 and his father abandoned him. He was reared in southern West Virginia by an aunt and uncle, Vlurma and Titus Byrd. He overcame poverty and an early association with the Ku Klux Klan to be elected to the House in 1952 and the Senate in 1958, and then was re-elected every six years, at times carrying every county in the state.
Byrd's political record spanned two extremes. In the Senate, he voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and led the filibuster of the bill with a 14-hour, 13-minute oration. Later, as Democratic leader, he led the fight to protect Social Security benefits and other traditionally Democratic social programs.
Byrd, known for his red vest, carrying a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket and playing the fiddle in the halls of Congress and elsewhere, holds a record of having cast more votes than anyone else who has ever served in the Senate. He also fiercely garnered jobs for West Virginia, steering several employment-rich government facilities to the Mountain State, including an FBI fingerprinting center and an IRS center.
Byrd was introduced to politics when he ran for a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. He also was a member of the state's Senate before beginning his congressional run. In the U.S. Senate, Byrd held the following positions: chairman of the Democratic Steering Committee, chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, chairman of the Democratic Conference, secretary of the Democratic Conference, majority whip, minority leader, president pro tempore and twice as majority leader. Committee assignments include Rules and Administration, Armed Services and Appropriations.
Byrd married his high school sweetheart, Erma Ora James, who died while he was campaigning for re-election in 2006. He is survived by two daughters, Mona Carol Fatemi and Marjorie Ellen Moore, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
