SENATOR Strom Thurmond of South Carolina made history yesterday by becoming the longest serving US senator - 41 years and 10 months.
He already holds the record for being, at 94, the oldest member to serve in Congress. He received a standing ovation from his colleagues last week before the Senate took its Memorial Weekend holiday break.
Senator Thurmond will be 100 if he completes his present term in 2003 and has said he will not run again. Joking with reporters he ruled out retiring before then, saying he felt "like a million dollars".
Reviewing his career, Senator Thurmond said he was glad there are more women now serving in the Senate. "When you bring in women, it's always for the better. They're smart and we like to look at them."
The senator fathered four children during his second marriage to a beauty queen between the ages of 69 and 74. He is now separated and lives alone.
Former presidential candidate and Senate colleague, Mr Bob Dole, who is 73, admires the Thurmond longevity. "He just keeps going like that Energizer Bunny," Mr Dole says.
During his presidential campaign last year, Mr Dole used to make frequent jokes about Senator Thurmond's age to deflect criticism about his own. He was trying to "copy Strom Thurmond's lifestyle" he would say.
But behind the banter there is concern about a nonagenarian heading the important Armed Services Committee in the Senate. As Senate president pro tempore Senator Thurmond is also third in line for the presidency after Vice President Al Gore and Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Although amazingly active for his age, Senator Thurmond has to be helped to walk at times by aides, who also hand him index cards on what to say when he chairs committee meetings. When he was reelected last November, half of the voters questioned at exit polls expressed concern that he would be unable to carry out his duties.
Yet no serious attempt has been made to persuade him to step down. Mr Dole sided with him when there was talk of this several years ago. "Everybody just loves Strom Thurmond," Mr Dole said.
The senator, who was born in 1902 when Theodore Roosevelt was president, has had an extraordinary political career. He was first elected to South Carolina's legislature in 1932.
After fighting in the second World War including at D Day in Normandy, he was elected governor in 1946.
He entered the Senate in 1954 where he has served both as a Democrat and a Republican. He set a record for filibustering in 1957 when he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against a civil rights Bill. But he later voted in favour of extending voting rights and was the first southern senators to hire black political staff.
Senator Thurmond's advice for longevity is "Watch your diet, exercise reasonably and develop an optimist's attitude towards life".