Richard B. Russell served in the United States Senate from 1933 to his death in 1971. He received an LL.D. from Mercer University in 1957. During the 91st Congress, he was president pro tempore of the Senate, a member and former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, a member of the Space and Aerouautics [sic; Aeronautics] Sciences Committee and of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. He was also a member of the commission which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. While still in office, Senator Russell died 21 January 1971 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.