Highlights of former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms' career and biography:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Born Oct. 18, 1921, in Monroe, N.C.; son of Jesse Alexander and Ethel Mae Helms; married Dorothy Jane Coble, Oct. 31, 1942; children: Jane, Nancy, Charles; Education: attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forest College; Politics: Republican; Religion: Baptist; Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Navy, 1942-45; Memberships: Masonic Order, Rotary Club, Raleigh Executives.

AWARDS

Freedom Foundation award, 1962, for best television editorial, and 1973, for newspaper article; National Award for service to mankind, Southern Baptists, 1972; Conservative Congressional Award, 1976; Liberty Award, American Economic Council, 1978; Distinguished Public Service Award, Public Service Research Council, 1978; Man-of-the-Year Award, Women for a Constitutional Government, 1978; Legislator-of-the-Year Award, National Rifle Association, 1978; Watchdog of Treasury Award; Guardian of Small Business Award; Gold Medal, Veterans of Foreign Wars; Outstanding Service Award, Council against Communist Aggression; Richard Henry Lee Award; Freedom Award, Order of Lafayette.

CAREER

Author, journalist, administrator, and U.S. senator; Raleigh Times, Raleigh, N.C., city editor, 1941-42; WRAL-Radio, Raleigh, news and program director, 1948-51; administrative assistant to U.S. Sen. Willis Smith, 1951-53, and U.S. Sen. Alton Lennon, 1953; executive director of North Carolina Bankers Association, 1953- 60; Capital Broadcasting Co., Raleigh, executive vice president, 1960-72; U.S. Senate, Washington, DC, senator representing North Carolina, 1972-2003; Member of Raleigh City Council and chair of law and finance committee, 1957-61; chair of board of Specialized Agricultural Publications, 1964-72; member of boards of directors for North Carolina Cerebral Palsy Hospital and Camp Willow Run.

BOOKS

Here's Where I Stand; Random House (New York, N.Y.), 2005.

Source: Contemporary Authors Online and Biography Resource Center