Washington  - Former senator Claiborne Pell, best known for his advocacy for a 1970s programme that has helped 54 million low and moderate-income students attend college, died Thursday, media reports said.

Pell served in the Senate representing Rhode Island from 1960 to 1996, shortly after he disclosed he suffered from Parkinson's disease. But as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee from 1987 to 1994, he was regarded as a weak leader, the New York Times and Washington Post wrote.

Pell was the descendant of a wealthy New England family that dated back to colonial times. Five of his ancestors including his father served in Congress.

He always regarded his greatest achievement as the Pell Grants, as the college aid grants came to be known.

"He believed strongly that a good education could open infinite doors of opportunity, and he has transformed the lives of millions of young people who have been able to go to college because of the grant that rightly bears his name," Senator Edward Kennedy was quoted as saying by the Times.

Pell raised eyebrows at times, earning the nickname "Senator Oddball" from Time magazine for inviting the Israeli-British psychic Uri Geller to demonstrate his ability to bend a spoon using mind control. He also once attended a symposium on UFO abductions, the Washington Post reported. (dpa)