Raised by his mother and maternal grandfather, an elevator operator, Rangel grew up in the streets of New York. After dropping out of high school, Rangel

After his return from Korea and near-death experience, Rangel enrolled at New York University, earning a B.A. in 1957 and receiving his law degree from St. John's University Law School in 1960. In 1961, Attorney General Robert Kennedy appointed Rangel assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1967, Rangel won election to the New York State Assembly, and in 1971 he ran against the famous Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in a historic election.

Rangel's victory inaugurated the first of his seventeen consecutive terms as Harlem's representative to Congress.

His tenure in Congress has been marked by a continued activism and concern for his constituency. Rangel was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus and served at one time as its chairman. He has also been active on issues of trade and human resources.

In 1987, Rangel, one of the leading opponents to South African apartheid, pushed the Internal Revenue Service to eliminate tax credits for taxes paid to the apartheid government of South Africa.

In 1995, he helped to create a federal "empowerment zone" in Manhattan and authored the low-income tax credit to stimulate the development of affordable housing in urban areas. Early in 2003, Rangel proposed the reinstatement of the military draft as a way to deter the use of force and promote a peaceful resolution to the standoff in Iraq.

Rangel has won re-election every two years since, often with over 90 percent of the vote. His district was numbered the Eighteenth District from 1971 to 1973 – the Nineteenth District from 1973 to 1983; and the Sixteenth District from 1983 to 1993.

In Congress, Rangel's first committee assignment was on the House Judiciary Committee where he participated in the impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
Rangel co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus, where he has also served as chairman, and of which he continues to be a member.

In late 1998, when longtime New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement, Rangel was one of the first to advocate that then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton move to New York and run for the seat, which she did successfully. He later supported her 2008 presidential campaign.

In August 2006, Rangel had stated he would resign his seat if the Democrats did not take the House that November, which they did.

As of January 2007, Rangel is the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means and Chairman of the Board of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is currently the fourth-longest serving Democratic House member, behind John Dingell, John Conyers and Dave Obey.

Rangel and his wife, Alma, have two children, Steven and Alicia. The Rangels, active still in many civic and community organizations, maintain their home in Harlem.

Source: The Historymakers; Photo: Wong/Getty-NYDailyNews