Ted Stevens, at 86; served in US Senate for 40 years

Mr. Stevens, a moderate Republican, was appointed in December 1968 and became the longest-serving Republican in Senate history. (The late Strom Thurmond was in the Senate longer than Mr. Stevens, but he spent a decade there as a Democrat before switching to the GOP.)

The wiry octogenarian was a legend in his home state, where he was known as “Uncle Ted.’’ Though he was built like a birch sapling, he liked to encourage comparisons with the Incredible Hulk — an analogy that seemed appropriate for his outsize place in Alaska history.

The crash that killed Mr. Stevens was not his first. Shortly after being elected to his second full term in 1978, he was aboard a private jet that went down at Anchorage International Airport, killing his first wife, Ann.

Mr. Stevens’ standing in Alaska was hurt by allegations he accepted a bonanza of home renovations and fancy trimmings from VECO Corp., a powerful oil field services contractor, and then lied about it on congressional disclosure documents.

Indicted on federal charges in July 2008, he asked for an unusually speedy trial, hoping to clear his name before Election Day. Instead, he was convicted in late October of all seven counts — and narrowly lost his Senate seat to Democrat Mark Begich in the election.

In his farewell speech to the Senate, he said: “I look only forward and I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me.’’

Five months after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder dropped the indictment and declined to proceed with a new trial because of misconduct by federal prosecutors. Mr. Stevens never discussed the events publicly.

When his party held a majority, Mr. Stevens — known as a formidable parliamentarian — was chairman of several Senate committees, including the powerful Rules and Appropriations panels. For three years, he was majority whip. When the Democrats took back control of the Senate in January 2007, he lost his chairmanships but remained the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee.