Profile America — Thursday, January 29th. A social milestone was reached this date in 1907.

Congressman Charles Curtis of Kansas was seated in the U.S. Senate to complete the few weeks remaining in the term of a resigned senator. He was the first person with Native American blood to serve in the Senate, as his mother was descended from three tribes.

He was elected to that office four times, serving for 20 years. He remained until March 3, 1929, when he left the Senate to serve as vice president under Herbert Hoover.

There are over 5.2 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives of single or mixed race, as was Vice President Curtis. Twenty-six percent of those over the age of 16 in the civilian workforce are in management, business, science and arts occupations.

Sources: Kane’s Famous First Facts, 2651

Curtis biography: www.kshs.org/kansapedia/charles-curtis/12029

Population and occupations: www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2014/cb14-ff26.html

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov/# (look for “Multimedia Gallery” by the “Newsroom” button).

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau.

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