Richard A. Baker

Richard Allan Baker (born March 18, 1940) was the first Historian of the United States Senate, serving through August 2009. He directed the United States Senate Historical Office from the time of its creation in 1975.

Education Baker graduated with a bachelor's in history from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1962, a master's in history from Michigan State University in 1965, a Master of Library Science from Columbia University in 1968, and a doctorate in history from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1982.

Historian of the Senate Following the Watergate scandal, the US Congress established the office of Senate historian to encourage and formalize record-keeping. Baker assumed the new post in 1975, and would continue in this role for the next 34 years.

In 2009, at the time of Baker's retirement, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell initiated a similar program for his party's members. Both Democratic and Republican programs are currently active, relying on presentations by the Senate's Historian and Associate Historian.

Authorship "Conservation Politics: The Senate Career of Clinton P. Anderson" (University of New Mexico Press, 1985) "The Senate of the United States: A Bicentennial History" (Krieger, 1988) "First Among Equals: Outstanding Senate Leaders of the Twentieth Century" (Congressional Quarterly, 1991) (coeditor) "200 Notable Days: Senate Stories 1787 to 2002" (Government Printing Office, 2006) "The American Senate: An Insider's History" co-authored with Neil MacNeil (Oxford University Press, 2013)