Dean of the United States Senate
US Senator with longest continuous service
Dean of the United States Senate | |
---|---|
Incumbent Chuck Grassley since January 3, 2023 | |
Member of | United States Senate |
Formation | March 4, 1789 |
First holder | James Gunn |
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 (since 1945) the longest-serving member of the majority party serves as president pro tempore.
The current dean is Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa. He has been in the Senate since 1981 and became dean in 2023 with the retirement of Patrick Leahy.
List of deans
Name | Party | State | Years | First served |
---|---|---|---|---|
James Gunn | Anti-Admin Democratic-Republican | GA | 1789–1797 | 1789 |
John Langdon | Pro-Admin Democratic-Republican | NH | ||
and others | ||||
James Gunn | Democratic-Republican | GA | 1797–1801 | |
John Langdon | Democratic-Republican | NH | ||
Theodore Foster | Democratic-Republican | RI | 1801–1803 | 1790 |
John Brown | Democratic-Republican | KY | 1803–1805 | 1791 |
James Hillhouse | Federalist | CT | 1805–1810 | 1796 |
Joseph Anderson | Democratic-Republican | TN | 1810–1815 | 1797 |
John Gaillard | Democratic-Republican | SC | 1815–1826 | 1804 |
Benjamin Ruggles | Anti-Jacksonian | OH | 1826–1833 | 1815 |
William R. King | Democratic | AL | 1833–1844 | 1819 |
Thomas Benton | Democratic | MO | 1844–1851 | 1821 |
Willie Person Mangum | Whig | NC | 1851–1853 | 1831, 1840 |
James Pearce | Whig | MD | 1853–1862 | 1843 |
James A. Bayard Jr. | Democratic | DE | 1862–1864 | 1851 |
Solomon Foot | Republican | VT | ||
Solomon Foot | Republican | VT | 1864–1866 | |
Benjamin F. Wade | Republican | OH | 1866–1869 | |
Charles Sumner | Republican | MA | 1869–1874 | |
Zachariah Chandler | Republican | MI | 1874–1875 | 1857 |
Henry B. Anthony | Republican | RI | 1875–1884 | 1859 |
George F. Edmunds | Republican | VT | 1884–1891 | 1866 |
Justin Smith Morrill | Republican | VT | 1891–1898 | 1867 |
William B. Allison | Republican | IA | 1898–1908 | 1873 |
Eugene Hale | Republican | ME | 1908–1911 | 1881 |
William P. Frye | Republican | ME | 1911 | 1881 |
Shelby Moore Cullom | Republican | IL | 1911–1913 | 1883 |
Jacob Harold Gallinger | Republican | NH | 1913–1918 | 1891 |
Henry Cabot Lodge | Republican | MA | 1918–1924 | 1893 |
Francis E. Warren | Republican | WY | 1924–1929 | 1895 |
Furnifold McLendel Simmons | Democratic | NC | 1929–1931 | 1901 |
Reed Smoot | Republican | UT | 1931–1933 | 1903 |
William Edgar Borah | Republican | ID | 1933–1940 | 1907 |
Ellison D. Smith | Democratic | SC | 1940–1944 | 1909 |
Kenneth McKellar | Democratic | TN | 1944–1953 | 1917 |
Walter F. George | Democratic | GA | 1953–1957 | 1922 |
Carl Hayden | Democratic | AZ | 1957–1969 | 1927 |
Richard Russell Jr. | Democratic | GA | 1969–1971 | 1933 |
Allen J. Ellender | Democratic | LA | 1971–1972 | 1937 |
George D. Aiken | Republican | VT | 1972–1975 | 1941 |
James Eastland | Democratic | MS | 1975–1977 | 1941, 1943 |
John L. McClellan | Democratic | AR | 1943 | |
James Eastland | Democratic | MS | 1977–1978 | 1941, 1943 |
Warren G. Magnuson | Democratic | WA | 1978–1981 | 1944 |
John C. Stennis | Democratic | MS | 1981–1989 | 1947 |
Strom Thurmond | Republican | SC | 1989–2003 | 1954, 1956 |
Robert Byrd | Democratic | WV | 2003–2010 | 1959 |
Daniel Inouye | Democratic | HI | 2010–2012 | 1963 |
Patrick Leahy | Democratic | VT | 2012–2023 | 1975 |
Chuck Grassley | Republican | IA | 2023–present | 1981 |
Party deans
Democratic
Republican
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
William H. Seward | NY | 1854–1861 |
Solomon Foot | VT | 1861–1866 |
Benjamin Wade | OH | 1866–1869 |
Charles Sumner | MA | 1869–1872 |
Henry Wilson | MA | 1872–1873 |
Zachariah Chandler | MI | 1873–1875 |
Henry B. Anthony | RI | 1875–1884 |
George F. Edmunds | VT | 1884–1891 |
Justin Smith Morrill | VT | 1891–1898 |
William B. Allison | IA | 1898–1908 |
Eugene Hale | ME | 1908–1911 |
William P. Frye | ME | 1911 |
Shelby Moore Cullom | IL | 1911–1913 |
Jacob H. Gallinger | NH | 1913–1918 |
Henry Cabot Lodge | MA | 1918–1924 |
Francis E. Warren | WY | 1924–1929 |
Reed Smoot | UT | 1929–1933 |
William E. Borah | ID | 1933–1940 |
Hiram W. Johnson | CA | 1940–1945 |
Arthur Capper | KS | 1945–1949 |
Arthur Vandenberg | MI | 1949–1951 |
Styles Bridges | NH | 1951–1961 |
Alexander Wiley | WI | 1961–1963 |
George Aiken | VT | 1963–1975 |
Milton R. Young | ND | 1975–1981 |
Strom Thurmond | SC | 1981–2003 |
Ted Stevens | AK | 2003–2009 |
Richard Lugar | IN | 2009–2013 |
Orrin Hatch | UT | 2013–2019 |
Chuck Grassley | IA | 2019–present |
Whig
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
Nehemiah R. Knight | RI | 1833–1841 |
Samuel Prentiss | VT | 1841–1842 |
Nathaniel P. Tallmadge | NY | 1842–1844 |
William Cabell Rives | VA | 1844–1845 |
Thomas Clayton | DE | 1845–1847 |
Samuel S. Phelps | VT | 1847–1851 |
Willie Person Mangum | NC | 1851–1853 |
James Pearce | MD | 1853–1856 |
Henry S. Geyer | MO | 1856–1857 |
National Republican
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
Benjamin Ruggles | OH | 1825–1833 |
Nehemiah R. Knight | RI | 1833 |
Democratic-Republican
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
John Langdon | NH | 1799–1801 |
John Brown | KY | 1801–1805 |
Joseph Anderson | TN | 1805–1815 |
John Gaillard | SC | 1815–1826 |
Federalist
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
James Gunn | GA | 1799–1801 |
Theodore Foster | RI | 1801–1803 |
Uriah Tracy | CT | 1803–1807 |
James Hillhouse | CT | 1807–1810 |
Timothy Pickering | MA | 1810–1811 |
James Bayard | DE | 1811–1813 |
Chauncey Goodrich | CT | 1813 |
Outerbridge Horsey | DE | 1813–1821 |
Rufus King | NY | 1821–1825 |
Pro-Administration
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
Pierce Butler | SC | 1789–1795 |
Oliver Ellsworth | CT | 1795–1796 |
James Gunn | GA | 1796–1799 |
Anti-Administration
Name | State | Years |
---|---|---|
Richard Bassett | DE | 1789–1793 |
John Langdon | NH | 1793–1795 |
Pierce Butler | SC | 1795–1796 |
John Langdon | NH | 1796–1799 |
See also
- Baby of the United States Senate
- Oldest living United States president
- Dean of the United States House of Representatives
- List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
References
- Senators of the United States
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