WASHINGTON -- On a slow Friday in March of 1980, then-Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd saw his granddaughter and her schoolmates in the spectators' gallery and decided to give them a lesson with a lengthy impromptu speech on the history of the Senate.

A tradition was born as Mr. Byrd gave more than 100 speeches on the history of the body over the next several years, which were gathered into a comprehensive history of the Senate.

The dynamic West Virginia Democrat long ago secured a prominent place of his own in Senate lore. Yesterday the latest chapter was written as Mr. Byrd became the longest-serving member of Congress in history with his 20,774th day in office.

Three terms in the House of Representatives and a record nine terms in the Senate helped Mr. Byrd, who turns 92 tomorrow, top Carl Hayden, D-Ariz., who served in Congress from 1912 to 1969.

Mr. Byrd came to Washington in January 1953, when Harry Truman was president and the country's No. 1 song was "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Hawaii was not yet a state.

Plagued by health problems in recent years, Mr. Byrd is a rare sight on the Senate floor these days. Yesterday he gave his first speech in nearly a month, arriving in a wheelchair guided by an aide. Responding to the applause of his colleagues after the Senate passed a resolution in his honor, Mr. Byrd jabbed his trembling fists into the air as he has done in countless floor speeches.

Speaking yesterday, Mr. Byrd marveled at the history in which he has taken part and did not shy away from his failings.

"I have had the privilege not only to witness but also to participate in the great panorama of history," Mr. Byrd said.

"From the apex of the Cold War to the collapse -- the collapse! -- of the Soviet Union. From my opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act to my part in securing the funds for building the memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. From my support to the war in Vietnam to my opposition to President George W. Bush's war in Iraq."

He struggled when talking about his wife, Erma, who died in 2006.

"My only regret," Mr. Byrd said, pausing as he choked up, "is that my dear wife, Erma, is not here to enjoy this moment with me. But I know -- yes I do -- that she's smiling down from above and reminding me not to get a big head."

His colleagues did their part to swell Mr. Byrd's ego, lauding him for his service and a slew of Senate records: most votes, most leadership positions, longest tenure on any single committee.

"He has seen partisanship and bipartisanship; war and peace; recession and recovery; and his perspective is invaluable to the way we carry ourselves as United States senators," said Harry Reid, D-Nev., the body's current majority leader.

The praise came from Republicans, too, as senators from both parties approached Mr. Byrd to grasp his hand and wish him well.

"I can truly say I love him and I respect him," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "We've had our differences over the years, but they've always been cordial."

Mr. Byrd used his perch on the Appropriations Committee to direct billions in federal funds to his home state over the years.

A drive through West Virginia reveals Mr. Byrd's influence at every turn, with a slew of roads and bridges bearing his name.

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat and former governor of Virginia, seemed a bit jealous.

"I sometimes watched with awe Sen. Byrd's ability to bring ... jobs back to West Virginia, as he was able to relocate federations that previously resided in Virginia and have those federal activities relocated to West Virginia," he said.

In Washington, Mr. Byrd was best known as a student of all types of history, but he was perhaps most proficient at the art of Senate procedure, which he used to his advantage as the Democratic leader from 1977 to 1989 -- a span split between majority and minority leader.

In 1988, he used his power to have the Senate sergeant-at-arms arrest Republicans who had refused to show up in an attempt to stall campaign finance legislation. Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore., was forcibly brought to the floor to achieve a quorum.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., who was a Republican at the time, said in an interview yesterday that he disagreed with that decision and a few others Mr. Byrd made over the years.

"[But] we have a very close relationship because we share a love of the Constitution," Mr. Specter said.

Mr. Byrd has traveled a long way from Raleigh County, W.Va., where he grew up as the foster son of a poor coal miner. He spoke yesterday about being "the scrap boy," collecting food to feed the family's hogs.

"Little could I have imagined or dreamed that when I was feeding those hogs or walking in the snow to catch a bus to school that one day under God's great mercy I would become the longest-serving member in the history -- the great history -- of the United States Congress."

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.