AP: A "fiery orator and hard-charging power broker."

NYT's Adam Clymer: Fought "for the primacy of the legislative branch of government and to build a modern West Virginia with vast amounts of federal money."

WashPost: He "used his masterful knowledge of the institution to shape the federal budget, protect the procedural rules of the Senate and, above all else, tend to the interests of his state."

Charleston Daily Mail: "Byrd first sauntered into the upper chamber on Jan. 3, 1959, already in his 40s with a head of hair darker than Appalachian coal. While part of the world's greatest deliberative body, Byrd's sensibilities changed with the times."

Photo: WashPost