Robert Carlyle BYRD, Congress, WV (1917-2010)

BYRD Robert Carlyle , a Representative and a Senator from West Virginia; born in North Wilkesboro, Wilkes County, N.C., November 20, 1917; attended West Virginia public schools; student at Beckley College, Concord College, Morris Harvey College, and Marshall College, all in West Virginia, and George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C.; graduated, American University Law School 1963; received Bachelor's degree in political science from Marshall University 1994; member of the West Virginia house of delegates 1947-1950; member of the West Virginia senate 1951-1952, resigning when elected to Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-third, Eighty-fourth, and Eighty-fifth Congresses (January 3, 1953-January 3, 1959); elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1958 for the term commencing January 3, 1959, and served from January 3, 1959, until his death; reelected in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, and again in 2006 for the term ending January 3, 2013; Secretary, Senate Democratic Conference 1967-1971; Democratic whip 1971-1977; Majority Leader and Democratic caucus chairman 1977-1980, 1987-1988; Minority Leader and Democratic caucus chairman 1981-1986; chair, Democratic Policy Committee 1977-1989; President pro tempore (1989-1995, June 6, 2001-January 3, 2003, 2007-June 28, 2010); chair, Committee on Appropriations (One Hundred First through One Hundred Third Congresses; One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 3-20, 2001; June 6, 2001-January 3, 2003]; One Hundred Tenth Congress); died June 28, 2010; lay in repose in the Senate Chamber July 1, 2010; interment in Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

Bibliography

Byrd, Robert C. The Senate, 1789-1989. 4 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1989-1994. Vols. 1 and 2, Addresses on the History of the United States Senate; Vol. 3, Classic Speeches, 1830-1993; Vol 4, Historical Statistics, 1789-1992; Byrd, Robert C. The Senate of the Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of Roman Constitutionalism. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1995; Byrd, Robert C. Child of the Appalachian Coalfields. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2005; U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses and Other Tributes. 111th Cong., 2nd sess., 2012. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2012.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present