Robert Carlyle Byrd (originally Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr., November 20, 1917 - June 28, 2010) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from West Virginia from 1959 to 2010. He was known for his membership of the Ku Klux Klan during his tenure as a member of the West Virginia Senate, and his (former) opposition to civil rights and desegregation. Eventually, he disavowed these views and remained a Senator until his death in 2010.