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Hiram Fong was first elected to the Senate in 1959, along with Democrat Oren E. Long, after Hawaii was admitted as the 50th state. His election made him the first Chinese-American elected to the Senate.
Since his retirement, Fong and his wife have managed a 725 acre garden that was opened to the public in 1988.
With the death of Senator Strom Thurmond on June 26, 2003, Fong became the oldest living Senator.