Alaska senator who represented the state for 40 years, becoming an icon for pork-barrell spending. He served as the Senate Majority Whip from 1981 to 1985.
He supported the notorious 'Bridge to Nowhere,' bringing in $400 million of federal dollars to link an island with 50 residents.
In 2008 he went on trial for allegedly taking gifts from an oil company for steering projects their way.
He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the third of four children, in a cottage built by hand by his grandfather.
He represented Alaska on Nelson Rockefeller's 1964 presidential campaign - the same year he won his first state office.
