Louisiana in the Senate
Courtesy of the Senate Historical Office
Senate Service
| Total Number of Senators from Louisiana | 47 of 1,851 as of January 1999. |
| Shortest Service | 30 of the 47 have served less than the full six-year term. |
| Longest Service (24 years or more) |
Russell B. Long served for thirty-eight years, the third longest Senate service; Allen J. Ellender served in the Senate for thirty-five years. J. Bennett Johnson served twenty-four years. |
Louisiana Senators Who Served in Leadership Positions
| President Pro Tempore | Allen J. Ellender |
| Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman | J. Bennett Johnston; John Breaux |
| Democratic Party Whip | Russell B. Long |
Committee Chairmanships
| Agriculture and Forestry | Allen J. Ellender |
| Appropriations | Allen J. Ellender |
| Energy and Natural Resources | J. Bennett Johnston |
| Finance | Russell B. Long |
Louisiana Citizens Honored in the Capitol's Art Collection
Huey Pierce Long by Charles Keck (Statuary Hall)
Edward Douglass White by Arthur Morgan (Senate connecting corridor)
Unusual Facts
During his tenure in the Senate, Allan J. Ellender invited fellow senators and administration officials to sample his Creole cooking at luncheons in his third floor Capitol hideaway. Five U.S. presidents sampled his cooking, including President Lyndon B. Johnson, who, enticed by a delicious aroma on a visit to the Capitol, dropped by, uninvited, to sample Ellender's famous shrimp gumbo.
Suggestions for Further Reading
- Dufour, Charles L.Ten Flags in the Wind: The Story of Louisiana. New York: Harper and Roe, 1967.
- Evans, Eli N. Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate. New York: Harper and Roe, 1967.
- Federal Writers' Project. Louisiana: A Guide to the State. New York: Hastings House, reprint of the 1941 edition, 1971.
- Hair, William Ivy. The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991.
- Mann, Robert. Legacy to Power: Senator Russell Long of Louisiana. New York: Paragon House, 1992.
- Taylor, Joe Gray. Louisiana: A Bicentennial History. New York: Norton, 1976.
- Wall, Bennett H., ed. Louisiana, a History. Arlington Heights, IL: Forum Press, 1990.
- Wilds, John, Charles L. Dufour, Walter G. Cowan. Louisiana, Yesterday and Today: A Historical Guide to the State. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1996.
- Williams, T. Harry. Huey Long. New York: Knopf, 1971.
Louisiana Senators