Edward William Brooke III was born on October 26, 1919, in Washington, D.C., to middle-class black family. His father was Edward William Brooke Jr., a lawyer and graduate of Howard University who worked with the

After leaving the Senate, Brooke practiced law in Washington, D.C., first as a partner at the Washington firm of O'Connor & Hannan; later of counsel

• Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Congressional Gold Medal. At his 2009 Congressional Gold Medal Acceptance speech, Brooke scolded

• List of African-American firsts
• List of African-American Republicans
• List of African-American United States senators

After graduating from Boston University, Brooke worked as a lawyer. He declined offers to join established law firms, instead opening his own

First term (1967–1973)
Initial election
In 1966, Brooke defeated former Governor Endicott Peabody with

Edward Brooke was a self-described moderate or liberal Republican, generally referred to as Rockefeller Republicans. On social issues he was a liberal who supported civil rights, women's rights, and civil liberties. On economic issues he was fiscally conservative,