[Excerpt] This report provides profiles of Senators and Representatives in selected Congresses since 1945. It includes data based on Representatives and Senators serving on the first day of the 79th, 82nd, 87th, 92nd, 97th, 102nd, and 107th – 112th Congresses for several demographic characteristics, as well as the tenure of Member service in Congress. The characteristics discussed include age, including the oldest and youngest members of the House and Senate; congressional service tenure; sex; previous occupation; race and ethnicity; education; religion; and military service. Following the written summaries of each characteristic, the report provides a number of tables that provide the detailed data by the category on which the summaries are based. All data tables appear in the “Member Characteristics Data Tables” section.