(CNN) — Charles B. Rangel, a civil rights activist, war hero and trailblazing New York congressman whose career saw the high school dropout rise to become one of the most influential Black politicians in modern history, died on Monday. He was 94.

Rangel’s death was announced by the City College of New York, where he served as Statesman-in-Residence and launched the Charles B. Rangel Infrastructure Workforce Initiative to boost infrastructure jobs in areas of Manhattan and the Bronx that he called home for nearly a century.

First elected to Congress in 1970, Rangel would eventually serve 23 terms in the body, where he co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus and became the first Black member and later chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee. He retired in 2017.

He was the last surviving member of the “Gang of Four,” the powerful coalition of Harlem lawmakers whose members also included former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson and former Manhattan Bureau President Percy Sutton.

“Black excellence in Harlem, in New York, and in the United States survived because of the work Charlie and his cohorts did to keep it alive,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, who knew Rangel for more than 50 years, said in a statement on Monday. “It is on us now to pick up the torch Charlie Rangel carried for decades to fight for our communities, advance along the road of justice, and uplift ourselves.”

Born in Harlem on June 11, 1930, Rangel described a tough childhood during which he witnessed his father beating his mother. Rangel’s father eventually abandoned the family, prompting a young Rangel to move in with his aunt and uncle.

After dropping out of high school in 1947, Rangel enlisted in an all-Black battalion in the US Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. He would be deployed to Korea, where as a private first class in November 1950, Rangel was wounded while trying to rescue dozens of men behind enemy lines — actions that earned him a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor.

After leaving the Army in 1952, Rangel used the GI Bill to go to college, earning a degree from New York University and later a law degree from St. John’s University. Rangel briefly worked as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York before he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1966.

During this time, he also became involved in the Civil Rights Movement and marched in both Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. He sought higher office and was elected in 1970 to represent parts of upper Manhattan in Congress.

Throughout his time in Congress, Rangel was known for his efforts to fight drug trafficking and as a leading voice against apartheid. He became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after Democrats won control of Congress in 2006.

But he would later step down from that position after he became the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations he accepted trips to the Caribbean that were paid for by corporate interests. Rangel was ordered to repay the money.

The House censured Rangel in 2010 after the ethics committee found him guilty of 11 counts of violating House rules, including failing to pay taxes on a vacation home in the Dominican Republic and improperly using his office to raise money for an educational center bearing his name.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday remembered Rangel as “a great man, a great friend, and someone who never stopped fighting for his constituents and the best of America.”

“The list of his accomplishments could take pages, but he leaves the world a much better place than he found it,” the New York Democrat said on social media.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries described Rangel as “a phenomenal patriot, hero, statesman, leader, trailblazer, change agent & champion for justice.”

“The Lion of Lenox Ave was a transformational force of nature,” the New York Democrat said. “Harlem, NYC & America are better today because of his service. May he forever rest in power.”

This headline and story have been updated with additional information.

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