Title: Biographical characteristics of members of the United States Congress, 1789-1978
Description: This file includes a limited set of background variables and data on the congressional careers, as well as pre- and post-Congress political office- holding, for all members of the First through the Ninety-sixth Congresses. The data were coded from the 4th and 5th editions of the Biographical Directory of the American Congress. Congressional Directories were used for the most recent Congresses. Background variables include state of birth, year of birth, relatives also serving in Congress, military service, private or public secondary education, college attended, major occupation, and (longest held) party affiliation. Office-holding variables include the last office held prior to and first office held immediately after congressional service at the municipal, county, state, and federal levels, with judicial offices treated separately. Data on the congressional career itself include the year first elected to Congress, number of years served in each chamber and the reason for leaving Congress. The data for the period from 1789 to 1960 were collected by Carroll R. McKibbin, the University of Nebraska. The data from 1961 to the present were prepared by the ICPSR staff.
Subjects: Biography, United States. Continental Congress, United States. Congress
Places: United States