United States Congressional Biographical Data Series

Investigator(s): Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

The United States Congressional Biographical Data series was developed by ICPSR and was supported by grants from the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. The data were constructed primarily from Carroll McKibbin, BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, 1789-1979 (ICPSR 7428), and the ROSTER OF UNITED STATES CONGRESSIONAL OFFICEHOLDERS, 1789-1978, collected by ICPSR, as well as from a variety of other sources. The data provide information on congressional service and selected biographical characteristics for each person who had served in the United States Congress in the period 1789-1996. A data record exists for every Congress in which an individual served, as well as for each chamber in which a person may have served in a given Congress. The record includes political party affiliation, district, state and region represented, and exact and cumulative dates of service in each Congress and in each chamber, as well as total congressional service.