Breaking News: Edward Brooke dies at 95; first black senator elected by popular vote

Edward Brooke dies at 95; first black senator elected by popular vote Los Angeles Times | January 3, 2015 | 3:04 PM Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote and the first Republican senator to call for the resignation of President Nixon over the Watergate scandal, died Saturday at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 95. He died of natural causes, said his former legislative aid, Ralph Neas. Upon his arrival in Washington, Brooke automatically achieved a number of social firsts, according to his memoirs, integrating both the Senate swimming pool and the Senate barber shop.