Harry Reid: “three decades ago, when Senator Robert Byrd began drafting a series of lectures on the history of the United States…”

“three decades ago, when Senator Robert Byrd began drafting a series of lectures on the history of the United States Senate, to whom did he go for help? Don Ritchie. Ten years ago, when Dan Brown, the popular author of the best-selling ``DaVinci Code,'' wanted information about the Capitol for his new novel, to whom did he go? Don Ritchie. Even now, when famed historian and biographer Robert Caro needs facts for his five-volume work on Lyndon Johnson, he goes to Don Ritchie. Well, for 39 years, any person needing valuable insight into the United States Senate and its history has known where to go-- the Senate Historian, Don Ritchie. And Don has obliged, sharing his wealth of knowledge with anyone who asked--Senators, staff, authors, historians, and visitors. But after four decades of service, Don will officially retire from the Senate Historical Office at the end of this month. As the senior Senator from Kentucky stated, from his first day here in the Senate, Don Ritchie made this institution a better place. The first-ever Senate Historian, Don's predecessor, Richard Baker, once said, ``March 8, 1976--that's a date, like my wedding anniversary, that I remember.'' Indeed, that was the day Don Ritchie was hired as an Associate Historian in the newly formed Senate Historical Office. Don Ritchie, a former marine, was fresh out of graduate school at the University of Maryland, having received his Ph.D. in history just a year earlier.…”