Former Massachusetts U.S. senator Edward Brooke, the first African American to be elected to the Senate by popular vote, has died at age 95.
Ralph Neas, a former aide, said Brooke died Saturday of natural causes at his home in Coral Gables, Fla.
"Ed Brooke stood at the forefront of the battle for civil rights and economic fairness. During his time in elected office, he sought to build consensus and understanding across partisan lines, always working towards practical solutions to our nation's challenges," President Obama said in a statement.
The only blacks to serve in the Senate before Brooke were two men in the 1870s when senators were still chosen by state legislatures.
Brooke, a liberal Republican, was elected to the Senate in 1966 and served two terms. He earned his reputation as a liberal after becoming the first Republican senator to publicly urge President Nixon to resign.
"We lost a truly remarkable public servant," says Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker. "A war hero, a champion of equal rights for all and an example that barriers can be broken, Sen. Brooke accomplished more than most aspire to."
Brooke was honored in October 2009 with the Congressional Gold Medal. At the time, the president described Brooke as "a man who's spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country."
When he accepted the honor, Brooke lectured both parties to work together to solve problems saying Republicans and Democrats "can do anything" if they set aside partisan politics.
"You've got to get together. We have no alternative," he said. "It's time for politics to be put aside on the back burner."
Historian Dennis Nordin has researched and written about African-American politicians and devoted a chapter to Brooke in his book, From Edward Brooke to Barack Obama: African American Political Success, 1966-2008.
Nordin told The Greenville News that Brooke's political career shows independence from the GOP.
"He didn't follow the party line," said Nordin. "He refused to support Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Richard Nixon's Supreme Court nominees with a racist past."
Brooke said he was "thankful to God" that he lived to see Barack Obama become the nation's first black president.
Lawmakers are taking to Twitter to voice their thoughts and memories about Brooke.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the first black ever elected to the Senate from South Carolina tweeted: "Deeply saddened by the loss of Senator Edward Brooke. He was a true trailblazer; those of us who followed cannot thank him enough. #RIP"
