# States in the Senate | Mississippi Timeline

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**Introduction****Senators****Timeline**

AllAdvise & ConsentArtCommittees          Elections          Leadership

1798

## April 7

The Mississippi Territory was organized from land ceded from                    Georgia and South Carolina.

1817

## December 10

President James Monroe signed the resolution admitting                    Mississippi as the 20th state in the Union.

1817

## December 11

                        Walter Leake                    of Red Bluff and                         Thomas Hill Williams                    of Washington presented their credentials to the Senate, and                    after taking the                         oath of office                    became Mississippi's first senators. The next day they                    drew lots to determine their                         class assignments                    . Leake drew Class 2, with a term to expire March 3, 1821.                    Williams drew Class 3, with a term to expire March 3, 1823.                

1820

## November 20

                        David Holmes                    of Washington became chairman of the Senate                        Committee on Indian Affairs                    , serving until 1821.                

1834

## June 28

                        George Poindexter                    of Wilkinson became the first Mississippi senator elected                         president pro tempore                    of the Senate. He served in this position for five months,                    until November 30, 1834.                

1845

## March 5

                    The Senate confirmed the nomination                    of Senator                         Robert J. Walker                    of Madisonville as secretary of the treasury under President                    James K. Polk. Walker resigned his Senate seat the same day.                

1849

## December 18

                        Jefferson Davis                    of Warrenton and later Hurricane became chairman of the                    Senate Committee on Military Affairs (today's                         Committee on Armed Services                    ), serving until 1851. Davis again served as chairman of the                    committee from 1857 to 1861.                

1850

## April 17

                    During heated debate on the Senate floor, Senator                         Henry S. Foote                    of Jackson                         pulled a pistol                    on Senator                         Thomas Hart Benton                    of Missouri as the physically imposing Benton moved toward                    Foote down the center aisle. Foote claimed self-defense,                    while Benton accused him of being an assassin. As tempers                    cooled, a committee was immediately appointed to look into                    the disorder and the matter quietly went away.                

1850

## December 4

                        Henry S. Foote                    became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Foreign Relations                    , serving until 1851.                

1855

##  

                    American artist William H. Powell's                                             Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto                                        was placed in the Capitol                         Rotunda                    . Completed two years earlier, the 12-foot by 18-foot oil                    painting was the last of 8 historical paintings commissioned                    by Congress for the Rotunda. The painting depicts Spanish                    conquistador Hernando De Soto arriving at the Mississippi                    River at a point below Natchez on May 8, 1541. De Soto was                    the first European documented to have seen the river, which                    forms the western state boundary of Mississippi.                

1861

## January 21

                    Senator                         Jefferson Davis                    gave his                         farewell speech                    in the Senate. Days before, on January 9, Mississippi had                    become the second state, following South Carolina, to secede                    from the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War.                

1870

## February 25

                        Hiram Revels                    of Natchez took his                         oath of office                    and became the                         first African American                    to serve in the Senate. After being elected to the remainder                    of the term ending March 3, 1871, Revels joined                         Adelbert Ames                    of Natchez as the first two senators from Mississippi                    following its readmission to representation in the Union.                

1879

## February 14

                        Blanche Kelso Bruce                    of Floreyville became the                         only former slave to ever preside over the Senate                    . Bruce was also the first                         African American to serve                    a full term in the Senate, serving from March 4, 1875 to                    March 3, 1881.                

1888

## January 16

                    The Senate confirmed the nomination                    of                         Lucius Q.C. Lamar                    , who represented Mississippi in the Senate from 1877 to                    1885, as an associate justice on the                         Supreme Court                    . Lamar is the only Mississippian to ever serve on the                    nation's highest court.                

1893

## March 15

                        Edward Walthall                    of Grenada became chairman of the Senate Committee on                    Military Affairs (today's                         Committee on Armed Services                    ), serving until 1894.                

1893

## March 15

                        James Z. George                    of Jackson became chairman of the Senate Committee on                    Agriculture and Forestry (today's                         Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry                    ), serving until 1895.                

1894

## June 22

                    Former senator                         Adelbert Ames                    was awarded the                         Congressional Medal of Honor                    for actions on July 21, 1861, at the Battle of Bull Run.                    Ames, then serving as a first lieutenant with the 5th U.S.                    Artillery, was cited for having “remained upon the field in                    command of a...Battery, directing its fire after being                    severely wounded and refusing to leave the field until too                    weak to sit upon the caisson where he had been placed by men                    of his command.”                

1909

## February 22

                    Senator                         Anselm J. McLaurin                    of Brandon delivered                         George Washington's Farewell Address                    to the U.S. Senate, a tradition dating to 1862.                

1909

## December 9

                    Senator                         Hernando D. Money                    of Mississippi was elected                         chairman of the Democratic Conference                    . He served in this position until 1911.                

1916

## November 7

                    Incumbent senator                         John Sharp Williams                    of Yazoo City became Mississippi's first directly                    elected senator after the                         Seventeenth Amendment                    had taken effect.                

1931

## June 2

                    Bronze statues of former Mississippi senators                         Jefferson Davis                    and                         James Z. George                    , both by artist Augustus Lukeman, were unveiled at the                    Capitol as part of the                         National Statuary Hall Collection                    . The statue of Jefferson Davis currently resides in                         National Statuary Hall                    while the statue of James Z. George sits in the Capitol Visitor                        Center                    .                

1933

## March 9

                        Hubert D. Stephens                    of New Albany became chairman of the Senate Committee on                    Commerce (today's                         Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation                    ), serving until 1935.                

1933

## March 9

                        Pat Harrison                    of Gulfport became chairman of the Senate                        Committee on Finance                    , serving until 1941.                

1941

## January 6

                        Pat Harrison                    became the second Mississippi senator elected                         president pro tempore                    of the Senate. He served in this position for five months                    until his death on June 22, 1941.                

1943

## February 1

                        Wall Doxey                    of Holly Springs became the only former senator to serve as                    Senate                         sergeant at arms                    . Doxey had been elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate and                    served from September 29, 1941 to January 3, 1943, but he                    lost his bid for renomination in 1942. He served as Senate                    sergeant at arms from 1943 to 1947.                

1947

## August 21

                    Senator                         Theodore Bilbo                    of Poplarville passed away, ending a                         senate predicament                    . Bilbo, who had served in the Senate since 1935, won a                         contested 1946 election                    but the Senate refused to reseat him. Facing charges of                    personal corruption and civil rights violations, Bilbo was                    also battling cancer when he returned to Mississippi. At the                    time of his death, he was hoping to recover and then reclaim                    his seat in the Senate.                

1955

## January 5

                        Felton "Skeeter" Johnston                    , who was born in Louisiana but grew up in Mississippi,                    became                         secretary of the Senate                    after serving much of the previous decade as the Democratic                     party                        secretary                    . Johnston first came to Washington, D.C., in 1929, after                    graduating from the University of Mississippi, as an aide to                    Mississippi senator                         Pat Harrison                    . He retired as secretary of the Senate on December 30,                    1965.                

1955

## December 

                    Former Mississippi senator                         Lucius Q.C. Lamar                    was included in Massachusetts senator                         John F. Kennedy's                    Pulitzer-Prize-winning book, *Profiles in Courage*                    . Lamar, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, was lauded                    for his Senate eulogy of abolitionist and senator                         Charles Sumner                    of Massachusetts, his efforts during Reconstruction, and his                    opposition to the 1878 Bland-Allison Act.                

1956

## March 2

                        James O. Eastland                    of Ruleville and later Doddsville became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on the Judiciary                    . He served as chairman for nearly 23 years—longer than any                    other Judiciary Committee chairman—until his retirement on                    December 27, 1978.                

1969

## January 14

                        John C. Stennis                    of DeKalb became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Armed Services                    , serving until 1981.                

1972

## July 28

                        James O. Eastland                    became the third Mississippi senator elected                         president pro tempore                    of the Senate. He served in this position during four                    different Congresses, until his resignation on December 27,                    1978.                

1978

## December 27

                    Senator                         James O. Eastland                    ended his Senate service after more than 36 years. Eastland,                    who served in 1941 and again from 1943 to 1978, is                    Mississippi’s third                         longest-serving senator                    , behind                         John C. Stennis                    . Together, Eastland and Stennis represented Mississippi for                    31 years and 2 months, a record surpassed only by                         Strom Thurmond                    and                         Ernest "Fritz" Hollings                    of South Carolina.                

1984

## August 6

                    Senator                         Thad Cochran                    of Jackson received the                         Golden Gavel Award                    for presiding over the Senate for 100 hours in a single                    session.                

1984

## November 28

                    Senator                         Thad Cochran                    was elected                         Republican Conference secretary                    . He served from 1985 until 1991 when he became                         Republican Conference chairman                    .                

1987

## January 6

                        John C. Stennis                    became the fourth Mississippi senator elected                         president pro tempore                    of the Senate. He served in this position until January 3,                    1989.                

1987

## January 6

                        John C. Stennis                    became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Appropriations                    , serving until 1989.                

1989

## January 3

                        John C. Stennis                    ended his Senate career having served 41 years, 1 month, and                    29 days. Stennis surpassed                         James O. Eastland                    to become Mississippi’s longest-serving senator and cast over                     11,000 roll-call                        votes                    during his tenure. Stennis is also the 9th                         longest-serving senator                    .                

1990

## November 13

                    Senator                         Thad Cochran                    , who had been serving as the                         Republican Conference secretary                    , was elected                         Republican Conference chairman                    . He served in this position from 1991 until 1996.                

1992

## November 10

                    Senator                         Trent Lott                    of Pascagoula was elected                         Republican Conference secretary                    . He served from 1994 until 1995 when he became                         Republican party whip

1994

## December 2

                    Senator                         Trent Lott                    was elected                         Republican party whip                    . Lott served in this role until he was elevated to the                    position of                         majority leader                    in 1996.                

1995

## June 29

                    The United States Postal Service introduced a 32-cent                         stamp                    of former Mississippi senator                         Jefferson Davis                    as part of its "Classic Collections: Civil War"                    series.                

1996

## June 12

                    Senator                         Trent Lott                    was elected Senate                         majority leader                    after Senator                         Robert Dole                    resigned that position to focus on his presidential                    campaign. Lott held his position as Republican Leader in the                    Senate until January 7, 2003. In 2007 Senator Lott would                    briefly return to the position of Republican Party whip.                

1999

## October 

                    The U.S. Senate Commission on Art approved the commissioning                    of a                         portrait                    of                         James Eastland                    . Herbert Abrams was selected to paint Eastland’s portrait                    and received the commission in 2000. Abrams completed the                    portrait in 2001.                

2001

## January 3

                    During the 107th Congress, Senator                         Trent Lott                    served as both the                         minority leader and majority leader                    . From January 3 to January 20, 2001, with the Senate                    divided evenly between the two parties, the Democrats held                    the majority due to the deciding vote of outgoing Democratic                    Vice President                         Al Gore                    . Senator Lott served as minority leader at that time.                    Beginning on January 20, 2001, Vice President                         Richard Cheney                    , a Republican, held the deciding vote, making Senator Lott                    majority leader. On June 6, 2001, Senator                         James Jeffords                    of Vermont                         switched                    from Republican to Independent status. The move changed                    control of the Senate back to the Democrats and Senator Lott                    resumed his duties as minority leader.                

2002

## September 

                    An                         oil painting                    of former Mississippi senator                         Blanche Kelso Bruce                    by Simmie Lee Knox was officially unveiled in the Senate                    Wing of the Capitol.                

2003

## January 15

                        Thad Cochran                    became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry                    , serving until 2005.                

2003

## January 15

                        Trent Lott                    became chairman of the Senate                        Committee on Rules and Administration                    , serving until 2007.                

2005

## January 6

                        Thad Cochran                    became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Appropriations                    , serving until 2007. He chaired the committee again                    starting in 2015 until his resignation on April 1, 2018.                

2005

## January 20

                    As chairman of the                         Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies                    ,                         Trent Lott                    accompanied President-elect George W. Bush from the White                    House to the inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol.                

2009

## September 16

                    The U.S. Senate Commission on Art unveiled a                         new painting                    of U.S. Senator                         Trent Lott                    (R-MS) at a ceremony in the historic Old Senate Chamber of                    the U.S. Capitol (                        program                    |                         photo                    ).The portrait, painted by noted American artist                         Steven Polson                    , is part of the                         U.S. Senate Leadership Portrait Collection                    , which honors past Senate leaders.                

2018

## April 2

                        Cindy Hyde-Smith                    of Brookhaven became Mississippi's first woman senator                    when she was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by the                    resignation of                         Thad Cochran                    . She was elected to fill the remainder of the term on                    November 27, 2018.                

2019

## January 9

                        Roger Wicker                    of Tupelo became chairman of the                         Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and                        Transportation                    , a position he held until 2021.                

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