He is famous for discussions of the censures of Joseph McCarthy and Thomas Dodd, the contested election between John A. Durkin and Louis Wyman, and the preparations for a planned impeachment trial of Richard Nixon.

After finishing high school, Floyd M. Riddick attended Duke University and received the Bachelor of Arts degree.

While researching his doctoral dissertation, he spent a year observing the workings of the United States House of Representatives, a study which he eventually expanded and published as Congressional Procedure in 1941.

Floyd M. Riddick succeeded Charles L. Watkins as the Senate Parliamentarian in 1964, and held that position until 1974.

As parliamentarian emeritus, he remained as a consultant to the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.