Washington (CNN)  -- When Robert Byrd came to Congress from West Virginia, a postage stamp cost 3 cents and kids were clamoring for a new toy called Mr. Potato Head. On Wednesday, almost 57 years later, Byrd became the longest-serving member of Congress in history. Two days before he turns 92, the eloquent legislator known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Senate rules and history surpasses Carl T. Hayden, the Arizona Democrat who served a total of 20,773 days in the U.S. House and Senate. With his 20,774th day representing West Virginia -- six years in House and then nearly 51 years and counting in the Senate -- Byrd sets a record for longevity unlikely to be broken as the political climate turns toward term limits and growing public dissatisfaction with Congress.
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Sen. Robert Byrd logs his 20,774th day -- almost 57 years -- in Congress
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Byrd is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Senate rules and history
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West Virginian says joining Ku Klux Klan in 1940s was his "most egregious mistake"
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When he arrived in D.C. in 1953, gasoline costs 20 cents a gallon, a stamp was 3 cents
"I know that she is looking down from the heavens smiling at me and saying congratulations my dear @placeholder -- but don't let it go to your head," Byrd's statement said.