Born in Decatur, Georgia, Felton also holds the record for the oldest person to enter the Senate (being 87 years old upon beginning her term). The oldest Senator ever, however, was 100-year-old Senator Strom Thurmond, who entered the Senate at the age of 51.
Felton was the widow of Congressman William Harrell Felton, who served from 1875 to 1881. William Felton died in 1909 at the age of 86 while Rebecca Felton was 64.
The first woman to serve in the United States Senate, Rebecca Latimer Felton (1835-1930) of Georgia took the oath of office on November 21, 1922.
The 87-year-old Felton's largely symbolic Senate service capped a long career in Georgia politics and journalism.
In her only Senate speech, delivered to a large audience in the Senate Chamber, Felton concluded with the following prediction: "When the women of the country come in and sit with you,...
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