Dean of the United States Senate
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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 (since 1945) the longest-serving member of the majority party serves as President pro tempore.
The current Dean is Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
List of Deans
| Dean(s) | Party | State | Years | First served |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Gunn | Anti-Admin, Democratic-Republican |
Georgia | 1789–1797 | 1789 |
| John Langdon | Pro-Admin, Democratic-Republican |
New Hampshire | ||
| and others | ||||
| James Gunn | Democratic-Republican | Georgia | 1797–1801 | |
| John Langdon | New Hampshire | |||
| Theodore Foster | Rhode Island | 1801–1803 | 1790 | |
| John Brown | Kentucky | 1803–1805 | 1791 | |
| James Hillhouse | Federalist | Connecticut | 1805–1810 | 1796 |
| Joseph Anderson | Democratic-Republican | Tennessee | 1810–1815 | 1797 |
| John Gaillard | South Carolina | 1815–1826 | 1804 | |
| Benjamin Ruggles | National Republican | Ohio | 1826–1833 | 1815 |
| William R. King | Democratic | Alabama | 1833–1844 | 1819 |
| Thomas Hart Benton | Missouri | 1844–1851 | 1821 | |
| Willie Person Mangum | Whig | North Carolina | 1851–1853 | 1831, 1840 |
| James Pearce | Maryland | 1853–1862 | 1843 | |
| James A. Bayard Jr. | Democratic | Delaware | 1862–1864 | 1851 |
| Solomon Foot | Republican | Vermont | ||
| Solomon Foot | Vermont | 1864–1866 | ||
| Benjamin F. Wade | Ohio | 1866–1869 | ||
| Charles Sumner | Massachusetts | 1869–1874 | ||
| Zachariah Chandler | Michigan | 1874–1875 | 1857 | |
| Henry B. Anthony | Rhode Island | 1875–1884 | 1859 | |
| George F. Edmunds | Vermont | 1884–1891 | 1866 | |
| Justin Smith Morrill | Vermont | 1891–1898 | 1867 | |
| William B. Allison | Iowa | 1898–1908 | 1873 | |
| Eugene Hale | Maine | 1908–1911 | 1881 | |
| William P. Frye | 1911 | 1881 | ||
| Shelby Moore Cullom | Illinois | 1911–1913 | 1883 | |
| Jacob Harold Gallinger | New Hampshire | 1913–1918 | 1891 | |
| Henry Cabot Lodge | Massachusetts | 1918–1924 | 1893 | |
| Francis E. Warren | Wyoming | 1924–1929 | 1895 | |
| Furnifold McLendel Simmons | Democratic | North Carolina | 1929–1931 | 1901 |
| Reed Smoot | Republican | Utah | 1931–1933 | 1903 |
| William Edgar Borah | Idaho | 1933–1940 | 1907 | |
| Ellison D. Smith | Democratic | South Carolina | 1940–1944 | 1909 |
| Kenneth McKellar | Tennessee | 1944–1953 | 1917 | |
| Walter F. George | Georgia | 1953–1957 | 1922 | |
| Carl Hayden | Arizona | 1957–1969 | 1927 | |
| Richard Russell Jr. | Georgia | 1969–1971 | 1933 | |
| Allen J. Ellender | Louisiana | 1971–1972 | 1937 | |
| George D. Aiken | Republican | Vermont | 1972–1975 | 1941 |
| James Eastland | Democratic | Mississippi | 1975–1977 | 1941, 1943 |
| John L. McClellan | Arkansas | 1943 | ||
| James Eastland | Mississippi | 1977–1978 | 1941, 1943 | |
| Warren G. Magnuson | Washington | 1978–1981 | 1944 | |
| John C. Stennis | Mississippi | 1981–1989 | 1947 | |
| J. Strom Thurmond | Republican | South Carolina | 1989–2003 | 1954, 1956 |
| Robert C. Byrd | Democratic | West Virginia | 2003–2010 | 1959 |
| Daniel Inouye | Hawaii | 2010–2012 | 1963 | |
| Patrick Leahy | Vermont | 2012– | 1975 | |
Party Deans
For additional information here is a list of most senior Democratic and Republican Senators.
Democratic
- Patrick Leahy (Vermont), 2012–present
- Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), 2010–2012
- Robert Byrd (West Virginia), 1989–2010
- John C. Stennis (Mississippi), 1981–1989
- Warren Magnuson (Washington), 1978–1981
- James Eastland (Mississippi), 1972–1978
- Allen J. Ellender (Louisiana), 1971–1972
- Richard B. Russell (Georgia), 1969–1971
- Carl Hayden (Arizona), 1957–1969
- Walter F. George (Georgia), 1953–1957
- Kenneth McKellar (Tennessee), 1944–1953
- Ellison D. Smith (South Carolina), 1931–1944
- Furnifold McLendel Simmons (North Carolina), 1923–1931
- Charles Allen Culberson (Texas), 1919–1923
- Thomas S. Martin (Virginia), 1918–1919
- Benjamin Tillman (South Carolina), 1910–1918
- John W. Daniel (Virginia), 1909–1910
- Henry M. Teller (Colorado), 1908–1909
- William Pinkney Whyte (Maryland), 1907–1908
- John Tyler Morgan (Alabama), 1905–1907
- Francis Cockrell (Missouri), 1895–1905
- Matt Whitaker Ransom (North Carolina), 1889–1895
- Eli M. Saulsbury (Delaware), 1885–1889
- Thomas F. Bayard (Delaware), 1873–1885
- George Vickers (Maryland), 1872–1873
- Garrett Davis (Kentucky), 1871–1872
- Willard Saulsbury Sr. (Delaware), 1865–1871
- John P. Hale (New Hampshire), 1864–1865
- James A. Bayard Jr. (Delaware), 1862–1864
- James Pearce (Maryland), 1856–1862
- Jesse D. Bright (Indiana), 1855–1856
- David Rice Atchison (Missouri), 1851–1855
- Thomas Hart Benton (Missouri), 1844–1851
- William R. King (Alabama), 1833–1844
- Mahlon Dickerson (New Jersey), 1828–1833
- Nathaniel Macon (North Carolina), 1826–1828
Republican
- Orrin Hatch (Utah), 2013–present
- Richard Lugar (Indiana), 2009–2013
- Ted Stevens (Alaska), 2003–2009
- Strom Thurmond (South Carolina), 1981–2003
- Milton R. Young (North Dakota), 1975–1981
- George Aiken (Vermont), 1963–1975
- Alexander Wiley (Wisconsin), 1961–1963
- Styles Bridges (New Hampshire), 1951–1961
- Arthur Vandenberg (Michigan), 1949–1951
- Arthur Capper (Kansas), 1945–1949
- Hiram W. Johnson (California), 1940–1945
- William E. Borah (Idaho) 1933–1940
- Reed Smoot (Utah), 1929–1933
- Francis E. Warren (Wyoming), 1924–1929
- Henry Cabot Lodge (Massachusetts), 1918–1924
- Jacob H. Gallinger (New Hampshire), 1913–1918
- Shelby Moore Cullom (Illinois), 1911–1913
- William P. Frye (Maine), 1911
- Eugene Hale (Maine), 1908–1911
- William B. Allison (Iowa), 1898–1908
- Justin Smith Morrill (Vermont), 1891–1898
- George F. Edmunds (Vermont), 1884–1891
- Henry B. Anthony (Rhode Island), 1875–1884
- Zachariah Chandler (Michigan), 1873–1875
- Henry Wilson (Massachusetts), 1872–1873
- Charles Sumner (Massachusetts), 1869–1872
- Benjamin Wade (Ohio), 1866–1869
- Solomon Foot (Vermont), 1861–1866
- William H. Seward (New York), 1854–1861
Whig
- Henry S. Geyer (Missouri), 1856–1857
- James Pearce (Maryland), 1853–1856
- Willie Person Mangum (North Carolina), 1851–1853
- Samuel S. Phelps (Vermont), 1847–1851
- Thomas Clayton (Delaware), 1845–1847
- William Cabell Rives (Virginia), 1844–1845
- Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (New York), 1842–1844
- Samuel Prentiss (Vermont), 1841–1842
- Nehemiah R. Knight (Rhode Island), 1833–1841
National Republican
- Nehemiah R. Knight (Rhode Island), 1833
- Benjamin Ruggles (Ohio), 1825–1833
Democratic-Republican
- John Gaillard (South Carolina), 1815–1826
- Joseph Anderson (Tennessee), 1805–1815
- John Brown (Kentucky), 1801–1805
- John Langdon (New Hampshire), 1799–1801
Federalist
- Rufus King (New York), 1821–1825
- Outerbridge Horsey (Delaware), 1813–1821
- Chauncey Goodrich (Connecticut), 1813
- James A. Bayard (Delaware), 1811–1813
- Timothy Pickering (Massachusetts), 1810–1811
- James Hillhouse (Connecticut), 1807–1810
- Uriah Tracy (Connecticut), 1803–1807
- Theodore Foster (Rhode Island), 1801–1803
- James Gunn (Georgia), 1799–1801
Pro-Administration
- James Gunn (Georgia), 1796–1799
- Oliver Ellsworth (Connecticut), 1795–1796
- Pierce Butler (South Carolina), 1789–1795
Anti-Administration
- John Langdon (New Hampshire), 1796–1799
- Pierce Butler (South Carolina), 1795–1796
- John Langdon (New Hampshire), 1793–1795
- Richard Bassett (Delaware), 1789–1793
See also
- Baby of the United States Senate
- Oldest living United States president
- List of the oldest living members of the United States House of Representatives
- Dean of the United States House of Representatives
- List of longest-living United States Senators
- Earliest serving United States Senator
- List of oldest living United States governors
- List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service