Richard A. Baker (Senate Historian)

Richard Alan Baker is the current Historian of the United States Senate. He thereby directs the United States Senate Historical Office, and has since its creation in 1975.

He writes a weekly column on Senate history for a Washington newspaper and is currently preparing a history of Senate rules and customs.

Education

Baker graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and received masters degrees from Columbia University and Michigan State University. He also obtained a Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Historical Minutes

During the weekly luncheon meetings of the Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate, Baker opened up with a brief [http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/b_three_sections_with_teasers/essays.htm] historical anecdote or "minute". These short essays were wide-ranging in topic and highlight recurring themes in the Senate's institutional development. This program, at the request of Minority Leader Reid, was discontinued in the 109th Congress, in order to make the meetings more efficient.

Authorship

* "Conservation Politics: The Senate Career of Clinton P. Anderson" (1985)
* "The Senate of the United States: A Bicentennial History" (1988)
* "First Among Equals: Outstanding Senate Leaders of the Twentieth Century" (1991) (coeditor)
* "200 Notable Days: Senate Stories 1787 to 2002" (2006) [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/notabledays/index.html]

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/july-dec02/ledger_11-25.html Saving Senate History] , via pbs.org November 25, 2002