About Wendell Ford
Wendell Hampton Ford was an American politician from Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 53rd governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974, and as a member of the United States Senate from 1974 to 1999. He was the first person to be successively elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky, governor, and United States Senate member in Kentucky history. He was the Senate Democratic whip from 1991 to 1999, and was considered the leader of the state's Democratic Party from his election as governor in 1971 until he retired from the Senate in 1999. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving senator in Kentucky's history, a mark which was then surpassed by Mitch McConnell, in 2009. Ford is the last Democrat to have served as a U.S. Senate member from the state of Kentucky. Encouraged to run for the Kentucky Senate by Combs's ally and successor, Ned Breathitt, Ford won the seat and served one four-year term before running for lieutenant governor in 1967. Ford was very active in civic affairs, becoming the first Kentuckian to serve as president of the Junior Chamber International in 1954.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.