Earliest serving United States Representative
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). Of those living, the earliest-serving representative is Merwin Coad. He was sworn in as a representative on January 3, 1957.
Earliest serving Representatives (historic)[edit]
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 C. 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 A. 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 H. 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 A. 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 G. 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 E. Watson | Indiana | March 4, 1895 |
October 2, 1950 | John F. Fitzgerald | Massachusetts | ||
October 22, 1954 | Harrison H. 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 H. 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 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 |
January 16, 2020 | Hal Haskell | Delaware | ||
present | Merwin Coad | Iowa |
Earliest serving members currently living[edit]
This is a list of the 30 earliest-serving living members of the House of Representatives, who first entered the House at least 20-50 years ago. Nonvoting delegates are included but not ranked.
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 | 67 years, 307 days |
2 | Lucien Nedzi | May 28, 1925 | November 7, 1961 | January 3, 1981 | Michigan | Democratic | 62 years, 364 days |
3 | Don Fuqua | August 20, 1933 | January 3, 1963 | January 3, 1987 | Florida | Democratic | 61 years, 307 days |
Alec G. Olson | September 11, 1930 | January 3, 1967 | Minnesota | Democratic | |||
5 | William J. Green III | June 24, 1938 | April 28, 1964 | January 3, 1977 | Pennsylvania | Democratic | 60 years, 191 days |
6 | Lee Hamilton | April 20, 1931 | January 3, 1965 | January 3, 1999 | Indiana | Democratic | 59 years, 307 days |
Richard Ottinger | January 27, 1929 | January 3, 1971[lower-alpha 1] | New York | Democratic | |||
8 | Edward G. Biester Jr. | January 5, 1931 | January 3, 1967 | January 3, 1977 | Pennsylvania | Republican | 57 years, 307 days |
Benjamin B. Blackburn | February 14, 1927 | January 3, 1975 | Georgia | Republican | |||
Jim Gardner | April 8, 1933 | January 3, 1969 | North Carolina | Republican | |||
Donald Riegle | February 4, 1938 | December 30, 1976 | Michigan | Democratic | |||
Philip Ruppe | September 29, 1926 | January 3, 1979 | Michigan | Republican | |||
W. S. Stuckey Jr. | May 25, 1935 | January 3, 1977 | Georgia | Democratic | |||
14 | Bill Alexander | January 16, 1934 | January 3, 1969 | January 3, 1993 | Arkansas | Democratic | 55 years, 307 days |
Bill Clay | April 30, 1931 | January 3, 2001 | Missouri | Democratic | |||
James W. Symington | September 28, 1927 | January 3, 1977 | Missouri | Democratic | |||
G. William Whitehurst | March 12, 1925 | January 3, 1987 | Virginia | Republican | |||
18 | Dave Obey | October 3, 1938 | April 1, 1969 | January 3, 2011 | Wisconsin | Democratic | 55 years, 218 days |
19 | Barry Goldwater Jr. | July 15, 1938 | April 29, 1969 | January 3, 1983 | California | Republican | 55 years, 190 days |
20 | Michael J. Harrington | September 2, 1936 | September 30, 1969 | January 3, 1979 | Massachusetts | Democratic | 55 years, 36 days |
21 | Robert H. Steele | November 3, 1938 | November 3, 1970 | January 3, 1975 | Connecticut | Republican | 54 years, 2 days |
22 | Bill Archer | March 22, 1928 | January 3, 1971 | January 3, 2001 | Texas | Democratic Republican |
53 years, 307 days |
Charles Rangel | June 11, 1930 | January 3, 2017 | New York | Democratic | |||
N/A | Walter Fauntroy | February 6, 1933 | March 23, 1971 | January 3, 1991 | District of Columbia | Democratic | 53 years, 227 days |
24 | John Breaux | March 1, 1944 | September 30, 1972 | January 3, 1987 | Louisiana | Democratic | 52 years, 36 days |
25 | David R. Bowen | October 21, 1932 | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1983 | Mississippi | Democratic | 51 years, 307 days |
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke | October 5, 1932 | January 3, 1979 | California | Democratic | |||
William Cohen | August 28, 1940 | Maine | Republican | ||||
Harold V. Froehlich | May 12, 1932 | January 3, 1975 | Wisconsin | Republican | |||
Elizabeth Holtzman | August 11, 1941 | January 3, 1981 | New York | Democratic | |||
James R. Jones | May 5, 1939 | January 3, 1987 | Oklahoma | Democratic |
- ↑ Later served again from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1985.
See also[edit]
- List of the oldest living members of the United States House of Representatives
- Dean of the United States House of Representatives
- Dean of the United States Senate
- Earliest serving United States Senator
- Longest living United States Senator
- Oldest living United States governor
- List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
- Father of the House
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