The House of Representatives is the only body directly elected by the American people since its inception in 1789. Constitutionally, Members of the House stand for re-election every two years. This section provides data about a Member's service in the House.
View a chart providing historical totals of House Membership, including dates that territories entered the Union.
These PDFs include Members of the House of Representatives, organized by number of terms of service, sworn in at the opening and serving at close of the Congress.
A list of Members who Have served 40 years or more in the House of Representatives since Congress first convened in 1789.
In the modern U.S. House of Representatives the Member with the longest continuous service is known as the “Dean of the House.” The practice of recognizing this individual—initially, and for many years, called the “Father of the House”—dates to the early nineteenth century and has changed over time.
The roles and expectations for first-term Members of the House of Representatives have changed over time. This table documents the number of Representatives serving their first term for each Congress, both pre-convening and post-convening “freshmen.”
