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| Dean of the United States Senate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of | United States Senate |
| Formation | March 4, 1789 |
| First holder | James Gunn |
Thedean of the United States Senate is an informal term for thesenator 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 aspresident pro tempore.
The dean as of 2025 isRepublican senatorChuck Grassley ofIowa. He has been in the Senate since 1981 and became dean in 2023 with the retirement ofPatrick Leahy.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Name | State | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Ruggles | OH | 1825–1833 |
| Nehemiah R. Knight | RI | 1833 |
| Name | State | Years |
|---|---|---|
| John Langdon | NH | 1799–1801 |
| John Brown | KY | 1801–1805 |
| Joseph Anderson | TN | 1805–1815 |
| John Gaillard | SC | 1815–1826 |
| 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 |
| Name | State | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Pierce Butler | SC | 1789–1795 |
| Oliver Ellsworth | CT | 1795–1796 |
| James Gunn | GA | 1796–1799 |
| Name | State | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Bassett | DE | 1789–1793 |
| John Langdon | NH | 1793–1795 |
| Pierce Butler | SC | 1795–1796 |
| John Langdon | NH | 1796–1799 |