Chief Justices

1 John Jay, Chief Justice 1789-1795 (opinions)

John Jay was born on December 12, 1745, in New York, New York, and grew up in Rye, New York. He was graduated from King's College (now Columbia University) in 1764. He read law in a New York law firm and was admitted to the bar in 1768. Jay served as a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses, and was elected President of the Continental Congress in 1778. He also served in the New York State militia. In 1779, Jay was sent on a diplomatic mission to Spain in an effort to gain recognition and economic assistance for the United States. In 1783, he helped to negotiate the Treaty of Paris, which marked the end of the Revolutionary War. Jay favored a stronger union and contributed five essays to The Federalist Papers in support of the new Constitution. President George Washington nominated Jay the first Chief Justice of the United States on September 24, 1789. The Senate confirmed the appointment on September 26, 1789. In April 1794, Jay negotiated a treaty with Great Britain, which became known as the Jay Treaty. After serving as Chief Justice for five years, Jay resigned from the Supreme Court on June 29, 1795, and became governor of New York. He declined a second appointment as Chief Justice in 1800, and President John Adams then nominated John Marshall for the position. Jay died on May 17, 1829, at the age of eighty-three.

2 John Rutledge, Chief Justice 1795--Associate Justice 1790-1791 (opinions)

John Rutledge was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in September 1739. He studied law at the Inns of Court in England, and was admitted to the English bar in 1760. In 1761, Rutledge, was elected to the South Carolina Commons House of Assembly. In 1764, he was appointed Attorney General of South Carolina by the King's Governor and served for ten months. Rutledge served as the youngest delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, which petitioned King George III for repeal of the Act. Rutledge headed the South Carolina delegation to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and served as a member of the South Carolina Ratification Convention the following year. On September 23, 1789, President George Washington nominated Rutledge one of the original Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. After one year on the Supreme Court, Rutledge resigned in 1791 to become Chief Justice of South Carolina's highest court. On August 12, 1795, President George Washington nominated Rutledge Chief Justice of the United States. He served in that position as a recess appointee for four months, but the Senate refused to confirm him. He died on June 21, 1800, at the age of sixty.

3 Oliver Ellsworth, Chief Justice 1796-1800 (opinions)

Oliver Ellsworth was born on April 29, 1745, in Windsor, Connecticut. Ellsworth attended Yale College until the end of his sophomore year, and then transferred to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), where he was graduated in 1766. He read law in a law office for four years and was admitted to the bar in 1779. Ellsworth was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly from 1773 to 1776. From 1777 to 1784, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and worked on many of its committees. After service on the Connecticut Council of Safety and the Governor's Council, he became a Judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut in 1785. As a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, Ellsworth helped formulate the "Connecticut Compromise," which resolved a critical debate between the large and small states over representation in Congress. Ellsworth was elected to the First Federal Congress as a Senator. There he chaired the committee that drafted the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system. On March 3, 1796, President George Washington nominated Ellsworth Chief Justice of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment the following day. He resigned from the Supreme Court on September 30, 1800. Ellsworth died on November 26, 1807, at the age of sixty-two.

4 John Marshall, Chief Justice 1801-1835 (opinions)

John Marshall was born on September 24, 1755, in Germantown, Virginia. Following service in the Revolutionary War, he attended a course of law lectures conducted by George Wythe at the College of William and Mary and continued the private study of law until his admission to practice in 1780. Marshall was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1782, 1787, and 1795. In 1797, he accepted appointment as one of three envoys sent on a diplomatic mission to France. Although offered appointment to the United States Supreme Court in 1798, Marshall preferred to remain in private practice. Marshall was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1799, and in 1800 was appointed Secretary of State by President John Adams. The following year, President Adams nominated Marshall Chief Justice of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on January 27, 1801. Notwithstanding his appointment as Chief Justice, Marshall continued to serve as Secretary of State throughout President Adams' term and, at President Thomas Jefferson's request, he remained in that office briefly following Jefferson's inauguration. Marshall served as Chief Justice for 34 years, the longest tenure of any Chief Justice. During his tenure, he helped establish the Supreme Court as the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution. Marshall died on July 6, 1835, at the age of seventy-nine.

5 Roger Brooke Taney, Chief Justice 1836-1864. (opinions)

Roger Brooke Taney was born in Calvert County, Maryland, on March 17, 1777. He was graduated from Dickinson College in 1795. After reading law in a law office in Annapolis, Maryland, he was admitted to the bar in 1799. In the same year, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Defeated for re-election, Taney moved to Frederick, Maryland, and entered the practice of law. He was elected to the State Senate in 1816 and served until 1821. In 1823, Taney moved to Baltimore, where he continued the practice of law. From 1827 to 1831, Taney served as Attorney General for the State of Maryland. In 1831, Taney was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President Andrew Jackson. On September 23, 1833, Taney received a recess appointment as Secretary of the Treasury. When the recess appointment terminated, Taney was formally nominated to serve in that position, but the Senate declined to confirm the appointment in 1834. In 1835, Taney was nominated as Associate Justice by President Jackson to succeed Justice Duvall, but the Senate failed to confirm him. On December 28, 1835, President Jackson nominated Taney Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 15, 1836. Taney served as Chief Justice for twenty-eight years, the second longest tenure of any Chief Justice, and died on October 12, 1864, at the age of eighty-seven.

6 Salmon Portland Chase, Chief Justice 1864-1873. (opinions)

Salmon Portland Chase was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, on January 13, 1808, and was raised in Ohio. He returned to New Hampshire to attend Dartmouth College and was graduated in 1826 at the age of eighteen. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he read law under Attorney General William Wirt. Chase was admitted to the bar in 1829 and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked as a lecturer, writer, and editor while he established a legal practice. Chase became involved in the anti-slavery movement, and in 1848 he helped to write the platform of the Free Soilers Party. In 1848, the Ohio legislature elected Chase to the United States Senate, where he served one six-year term. In 1855, he was elected to a four-year term as Governor of Ohio, and in 1860 he was re-elected to the United States Senate. Chase resigned his Senate seat after only two days to accept a wartime appointment by President Abraham Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury. He resigned from the post in June 1864. Six months later, on December 6, 1864, President Lincoln nominated Chase Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment the same day. Chase served as Chief Justice for eight years and died on May 7, 1873, at the age of sixty-five.

7 Morrison R. Waite, Chief Justice 1874-1888. (opinions)

Morrison R. Waite was born in Lyme, Connecticut, on November 29, 1816. He was graduated from Yale College in 1837 and moved to Ohio to read law with an attorney in Maumee City. Waite was admitted to the bar in 1839 and practiced in Maumee City in 1850. He then moved to Toledo, where he practiced until 1874. Waite was elected to the Ohio General Assembly in 1850 and served one term. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 1846 and 1862. Waite declined an appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1863. In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Waite to a Commission established to settle United States claims against Great Britain, arising out of the latter's assistance to the Confederacy during the Civil War. The proceedings resulted in an award of $15.5 million in compensation to the United States. Upon his return from Europe, Waite was elected to the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1873 and was unanimously selected to serve as its president. During the Convention, on January 19, 1874, President Grant nominated Waite Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Waite served as Chief Justice for fourteen years and died on March 23, 1888, at the age of seventy-one.

8 Melville Weston Fuller, Chief Justice 1888-1910. (opinions)

Melville Weston Fuller was born in Augusta, Maine, on February 11, 1833, and was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1853. Fuller read law in Bangor, Maine, and was admitted to the bar after six months of study at Harvard Law School. In 1855, Fuller began to practice law in Augusta, Maine, and was elected President of the Augusta Common Council and appointed city solicitor. In 1856, Fuller moved west to Chicago, where he established a law practice and became active in politics. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1863 and served one term. In succeeding years he was offered the positions of Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and Solicitor General of the United States but declined both. President Grover Cleveland nominated Fuller Chief Justice of the United States on April 30, 1888. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 20, 1888. While on the Court, Fuller served on the Venezuela-British Guiana Border Commission and the Court of Permanent Arbitration at the Hague. Fuller served twenty-one years as Chief Justice and died on July 4, 1910, at the age of seventy-seven.

9 Edward Douglass White, Chief Justice 1910-1921, Associate Justice 1894-1910. (opinions)

Edward Douglass White was born in the Parish of Lafourche, Louisiana, on November 3, 1845. While White was studying at Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) the Civil War began and he returned home to join the Confederate Army. He was captured in 1863 by Union troops and remained in captivity until the end of the War. Upon his release in 1865, White read law and attended the University of Louisiana. He was admitted to the bar in 1866 and established a law practice in New Orleans. White was elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 1874, and from 1878 to 1880 he served on the Louisiana Supreme Court. In 1891, the State Legislature elected him to the United States Senate. President Grover Cleveland nominated White to the Supreme Court of the United States on February 19, 1894. The Senate confirmed the appointment the same day. White had served for sixteen years on the Court when, on December 12, 1910, President William H. Taft nominated him Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment same day White was the first Associate Justice to be appointed Chief Justice. White served on the Court for a total of twenty-six years, ten of them as Chief Justice. He died on May 19, 1921, at the age of seventy-five.

10 William Howard Taft, Chief Justice 1921-1930. (opinions)

William Howard Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 15, 1857. He was graduated from Yale University in 1878 and from Cincinnati Law School in 1880. Taft began his career in private practice in Cincinnati. After serving as an assistant prosecutor and a Judge of the Ohio Superior Court, he was appointed Solicitor General of the United States in 1890. From 1892 to 1900, Taft served as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1901, he was named Civilian Governor of the Philippines. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft Secretary of War. Taft was elected President of the United States in 1908 and served one term. After leaving the White House, Taft taught constitutional law at Yale University and appeared frequently on the lecture circuit. From 1918 to 1919, he served as Joint Chairman of the War Labor Board. President Warren G. Harding nominated Taft Chief Justice of the United States on June 30, 1921. The Senate confirmed the appointment the same day, making Taft the only person in history to have been both President and Chief Justice. As Chief Justice he focused on the administration of justice and at his request Congress created the Conference of Senior Circuit (Chief) Judges to oversee court administration. This body became the Judicial Conference of the United States. Taft retired from the Court on February 3, 1930, after serving eight years as Chief Justice. He died on March 8, 1930, at the age of seventy-two.

Associate Justices

11 Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice 1930-1941, Associate Justice 1910-1916. (opinions)

Charles Evans Hughes was born in Glens Falls, New York, on April 11, 1862. He was graduated in 1881 from Brown University and received a law degree from Columbia University in 1884. For the next twenty years, he practiced law in New York, New York, with only a three-year break to teach law at Cornell University. Hughes was elected Governor of New York in 1905 and re-elected two years later. On April 25, 1910, President William H. Taft nominated Hughes to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on May 2, 1910. Hughes resigned from the Court in 1916 upon being nominated by the Republican Party to run for President. After losing the election to Woodrow Wilson, he returned to his law practice in New York. Hughes served as Secretary of State from 1921 to 1925. He subsequently resumed his law practice while serving in the Hague as a United States delegate to the Permanent Court of Arbitration from 1926 to 1930. On February 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover nominated Hughes Chief Justice of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on February 13, 1930. He served as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1930 to 1941. Hughes retired on July 1, 1941, after serving eleven years as Chief Justice. He died on August 27, 1948, at the age of eighty-six.

12 Harlan Fiske Stone, Chief Justice 1941-1946, Associate Justice 1925-1941. (opinions)

Harlan Fiske Stone was born on October 11, 1872, in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. He was graduated from Amherst College in 1894. After teaching high school chemistry for one year, he studied at Columbia University, where he received his degree in 1898. In 1899, Stone was admitted to the bar and joined a New York law firm. For the next twenty-five years he divided his time between his practice and a career as a professor of law at Columbia University. He became Dean of the Law School in 1910 and remained in that position for thirteen years. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge appointed Stone Attorney General of the United States. The following year, on January 5, 1925, President Coolidge nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment February 5, 1925. After Sixteen years of service as an Associate Justice, Stone was nominated Chief Justice of the United States by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 12, 1941. The Senate confirmed the appointment on June 27, 1941. He served as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1941 to 1946. Stone served a total of twenty years on the Court. He died on April 22, 1946, at the age of seventy-three.

13 Fred M. Vinson, Chief Justice 1946-1953. (opinions)

Fred M. Vinson was born in Louisa, Kentucky, on January 22, 1890. He was graduated from Centre College in 1909 and from its Law School two years later. In 1911, Vinson was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in Ashland, Kentucky. Vinson became City Attorney of Ashland and, in 1921, Commonwealth's Attorney for the County. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1924 and was re-elected in 1926. He resumed his Ashland practice for two years and then won re-election to the House for four consecutive terms. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Vinson served the Roosevelt Administration during World War II in a succession of positions starting in 1943: Director of the Office of Economic Stabilization, Administrator of the Federal Loan Agency, and Director of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. In 1945, shortly after the end of the War, President Harry Truman appointed Vinson Secretary of the Treasury. On June 6, 1946, President Truman nominated Vinson Chief Justice of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on June 20, 1946. He served as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1946 to 1953. Vinson served for seven years as Chief Justice and died on September 8, 1953, at the age of sixty-three.

14 Earl Warren, Chief Justice 1953-1969. (opinions)

Earl Warren was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 19, 1891. He was graduated from the University of California in 1912 and received a law degree in 1914. He practiced for a time in law offices in San Francisco and Oakland. In 1919, Warren became Deputy City Attorney of Oakland, beginning a life in public service. In 1920, he became Deputy Assistant District Attorney of Alameda County. In 1925, he was appointed District Attorney of Alameda County, to fill an unexpired term, and was elected and re-elected to the office in his own right in 1926, 1930, and 1934. In 1938, he was elected Attorney General of California. In 1942, Warren was elected Governor of California, and he was twice re-elected. In 1948, he was the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States and, in 1952, he sought the Republican party's nomination for President. On September 30, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Warren Chief Justice of the United States under a recess appointment. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 1, 1954. Warren served as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1953 to 1969 and as Chairman of the Federal Judicial Center from 1968 to 1969. He also chaired the commission of inquiry into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. He retired on June 23, 1969, after fifteen years of service, and died on July 9, 1974, at the age of eighty-three.

15 Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice 1969-1986. (opinions)

Warren E. Burger was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 17, 1907. After pre-legal studies at the University of Minnesota in night classes, he earned a law degree in 1931 from the St. Paul College of Law (now the William Mitchell College of Law) by attending four years of night classes while working in the accounting department of a life insurance company. He was appointed to the faculty of his law school upon graduation and remained on the adjunct faculty until 1946. Burger practiced with a St. Paul law firm from 1931 to 1953. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Burger Assistant Attorney General of the United States, Chief of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. In 1955, President Eisenhower appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he served until 1969. President Richard M. Nixon nominated Burger Chief Justice of the United States on May 22, 1969. The Senate confirmed the appointment on June 9, 1969, and he took office on June 23, 1969. In July 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed Burger Chairman of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. As Chief Justice he served as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States and as Chairman of the Federal Judicial Center from 1969 to 1986. Burger retired from the Court on September 26, 1986, after seventeen years of service, and continued to direct the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution from 1986 to 1992. He died on June 25, 1995, at the age of eighty-seven.

16 William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice 1986-2005, Associate Justice 1972-1986. (opinions)

William H. Rehnquist was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 1, 1924. He served in World War II with the Army Air Corps. When the War ended, Rehnquist entered Stanford University and was graduated in 1948 with both an undergraduate and master's degree. He earned a second master's degree from Harvard University in 1950 before enrolling in Stanford Law School. After graduation from Stanford Law School in 1952, Rehnquist served as law clerk to Supreme Court Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson for the 1952-1953 Term. Rehnquist settled in Phoenix, Arizona, the following year engaged in the practice of law for sixteen years until 1969, when President Richard M. Nixon appointed him Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice. On October 21, 1971, President Nixon nominated Rehnquist as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 10, 1971. After serving for fifteen years as an Associate Justice, President Ronald Reagan nominated him Chief Justice of the United States on June 17, 1986. The Senate confirmed the appointment on September 17, 1986. As Chief Justice he serves as Chairman of the Judicial Conference of the United States and as Chairman of the Federal Judicial Center.

Associate Justices. (opinions)

17 James Wilson, Associate Justice 1789-1798. (opinions)

James Wilson was born in Caskardy, Scotland, on September 14, 1742. He entered St. Andrews University in 1757 and emigrated to America in 1765 to take a teaching position at the College of Philadelphia. He read law with an attorney and in 1768 began a private law practice in Reading, Pennsylvania. Wilson was elected a delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1775 and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He also served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. As a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, Wilson was a member of the committee that produced the first draft of the Constitution. He signed the finished document on September 17, 1787, and later served as delegate to the Pennsylvania Ratification Convention. On September 24, 1789, President George Washington nominated Wilson one of the original Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Wilson served on the Supreme Court for eight years and died on August 21, 1798, at the age of fifty-five.

18 William Cushing, Associate Justice 1790-1810. (opinions)

William Cushing was born March 1, 1732, in Scituate, Massachusetts. After graduation from Harvard College in 1751, Cushing taught school for one year in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and then read law in Boston. He was admitted to practice in 1755. In 1760, Cushing moved to Lincoln County, Massachusetts (now Dresden, Maine), to become a Probate Judge and Justice of the Peace. In 1772, he was appointed to the Superior Court of Massachusetts Bay Province. Under the new State Government, Cushing was retained as a Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, and in 1777 he was elevated to Chief Justice. From 1780 to 1789, he served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Cushing strongly supported ratification of the United States Constitution and served as Vice Chairman of the Massachusetts Ratification Convention. On September 24, 1789, President George Washington nominated Cushing one of the original Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Cushing served on the Supreme Court for twenty years and died on September 13, 1810, at the age of seventy-eight.

19 John Blair, Jr., Associate Justice 1790-1796.

John Blair, Jr. was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1732. He was graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1754. After one year of law study in England at the Middle Temple, London, he returned to Virginia to practice law. Blair began his public service in 1766 as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1770, he resigned from the House to become Clerk of the Governor's Council. Blair was a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1776, which drafted the State Constitution. Blair became a Judge of the Virginia General Court in 1777 and was elevated to Chief Judge in 1779. From 1780 to 1789, he served as a Judge of the First Virginia Court of Appeals. Blair was a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 and was one of three Virginia delegates to sign the Constitution. He was also a delegate to the Virginia Ratification Convention of 1788. On September 24, 1789, President George Washington nominated Blair one of the original Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Blair served five years on the Supreme Court. Citing the rigors of circuit riding and ill health, he resigned on January 27, 1796. Blair died on August 31, 1800, at the age of sixty-eight.

20 James Iredell, Associate Justice 1790-1799. (opinions)

James Iredell was born on October 5, 1751, in Lewes, England. He was educated in England and in 1768 became Colonial Comptroller of Customs in Edenton, North Carolina. While serving in that position, Iredell read law and was admitted to practice in 1770. In 1776, he resigned from his position with Customs and joined the independence movement. When North Carolina severed its ties with the British Crown, Iredell served on a commission to redraft the state's laws. In 1778, the Superior Court of North Carolina was created and Iredell was named one of its three Judges. He resigned after a few months because of the rigors of circuit riding and resumed his law practice. He served as Attorney General of North Carolina from 1779 to 1781. Under a new state constitution, Iredell codified the laws of North Carolina. In 1788, he served as floor leader of the Federalists in North Carolina Ratification Convention. On February 8, 1790, President George Washington nominated Iredell to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Iredell served for nine years on the Supreme Court and died on October 20, 1799, at the age of forty-eight.

21 Thomas Johnson, Associate Justice 1792-1793. (opinions)

Thomas Johnson was born on November 4, 1732, in Calvert County, Maryland. He was educated at home and studied law in the office of the Clerk of the Provincial Court in Annapolis, and later with an Annapolis attorney. He was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1760. Johnson began his public career in 1762 as a delegate to the Maryland Provincial Assembly. He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, and in 1776, he helped draft the Maryland constitution. During the Revolutionary War, Johnson served in the Maryland Militia. In 1777, he became the first Governor of the State of Maryland and served three consecutive terms. In 1788, Johnson served as a delegate to the Maryland Ratification Convention. On April 20, 1790, he was appointed Chief Judge of the General Court of Maryland, the highest common law court in the State. On November 1, 1791, President George Washington nominated Johnson to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on November 7, 1791. Citing the rigors of circuit riding, Johnson resigned from the Supreme Court on February 1, 1793. He died on October 26, 1819, at the age of eighty-six.

22 William Paterson, Associate Justice 1793-1806. (opinions)

William Paterson was born on December 24, 1745, in County Antrim, Ireland. His family emigrated to America two years later and eventually settled in Princeton, New Jersey. Paterson was graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1763 and earned a graduate degree in 1766. He read law, was admitted to the bar in 1769, and established a law practice. During the Revolutionary War, Paterson served as an officer with the Somerset County Minutemen and was a member of the Council of Safety. He was elected a delegate to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775 and to the State Constitutional Convention in 1776. After helping draft the New Jersey Constitution, he became Attorney General of that State, serving from 1776 to 1783. Paterson was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and, as a Senator in the First Federal Congress, he helped to draft the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system. He left the Senate in 1790 to become Governor and Chancellor of New Jersey. President George Washington nominated Paterson to the Supreme Court of the United States on March 4, 1793, and the Senate confirmed the appointment the same day. Paterson served for thirteen years on the Supreme Court and died on September 9, 1806, at the age of sixty.

23 Samuel Chase, Associate Justice 1796-1811. (opinions)

Samuel Chase was born in Somerset County, Maryland, on April 17, 1741. He read law in the office of an Annapolis attorney and was admitted to the bar in 1761. He practiced law at the Mayor's Court in Annapolis and appeared before other courts throughout the County. In 1764, Chase was elected to the Maryland General Assembly and served there for twenty years. He served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and signed the Declaration of Independence. Following the Revolutionary War, he served as a Judge of the Baltimore Criminal Court from 1788 to 1796 and as Chief Judge of the General Court of Maryland from 1791 to 1796. President George Washington nominated Chase to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 26, 1796, and the Senate confirmed the appointment the following day. In 1803, Chase became the only Justice of the Supreme Court in history to be impeached, but the Senate refused to convict him and the bill of impeachment was dismissed. Chase served on the Supreme Court for fifteen years and died on June 19, 1811, at the age of seventy.

24 Bushrod Washington, Associate Justice 1799-1829. (opinions)

Bushrod Washington was born on June 5, 1762, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was a nephew of the first President of the United States, George Washington. He was graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1778 and attended a course of law lectures conducted by George Wythe at the same time as did John Marshall, who later became Chief Justice of the United States. Washington enlisted in the Continental Army near the end of the Revolution and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. After the War, he resumed his law studies in the Philadelphia office of James Wilson, who preceded him on the Supreme Ct. Washington began a private law practice in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and then moved to Alexandria, Virginia. In 1787, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, and in 1788 he served as a delegate to the Virginia Convention which ratified the Constitution. In 1790, Washington moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he continued his law practice. He served as a reporter for the Court of Appeals and also instructed many law students, including Henry Clay. President John Adams nominated Washington to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 19, 1798. The Senate confirmed the appointment the following day. Washington served on the Supreme Court for thirty years. He died on November 26, 1829, at the age of sixty-seven.

25 Alfred Moore, Associate Justice 1800-1804. (opinions)

Alfred Moore was born on May 21, 1755, in New Hanover County, North Carolina. He was sent to school in Boston and read law under the guidance of his father, a colonial judge. Moore was admitted to the bar in 1775 at the age of twenty. During the Revolutionary War, Moore served as a captain in a Continental regiment. After his father's death in 1777, Moore returned home and joined the militia. In 1782, he was elected to the North Carolina State Legislature and, later that year, he was appointed Attorney General of North Carolina. In 1792, he was elected to the State Legislature for the second time. Three years later, Moore lost a bid for a seat in the United States Senate. In 1798, President Jon Adams appointed Moore to a commission to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Indians. He resigned the following year to become a Judge of the North Carolina Superior Court. On December 6, 1799, President John Adams nominated Moore to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 10, 1799. Moore served three years on the Supreme Court. He resigned on January 26, 1804. He died on October 15, 1810, at the age of fifty-five.

26 William Johnson, Associate Justice 1804-1834. (opinions)

William Johnson was born on December 17, 1771, in Charleston, South Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, his father was imprisoned by the British and the family was exiled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Johnson was graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1790, and studied law in a Charleston law office. Johnson was admitted to the bar in 1793, and the following year he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. He served three consecutive terms, the third term as Speaker. In 1799, the South Carolina Legislature elected Johnson to one of the three seats on the Court of Common Pleas, the highest court in the State. Johnson had served on the Court of Common Pleas for four years when, on March 22, 1804, President Thomas Jefferson nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Johnson served on the Supreme Court for thirty years. He died on August 4, 1834, at the age of sixty-two.

27 H. Brockholst Livingston, Associate Justice 1807-1823. (opinions)

H. Brockholst Livingston was born in New York, New York, on November 25, 1757. He was graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1774 and planned to study law. With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, however, Livingston joined the Continental Army. Livingston participated in the siege of Ticonderoga, served as an aide to General Benedict Arnold in the Saratoga campaign, and witnessed General John Burgoyne's surrender in 1777. In 1779, he served on a diplomatic mission to Spain as private secretary to John Jay, who later became the first Chief Justice of the United States. As the War drew to a close, Livingston resumed the study of law in Albany, New York. He was to the bar in 1783 and settled in New York, New York, where he practiced law. From 1784 until his death he served as a Trustee and Treasurer of Columbia University. In 1786, Livingston was elected to the New York Assembly and served for three years. He was appointed to the New York Supreme Court in 1802 and served for five years. President Thomas Jefferson nominated Livingston to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 13, 1806, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on December 17, 1806. He served on the Supreme Court for sixteen years. Livingston died on March 18, 1823, at the age of sixty-five.

28 Thomas Todd, Associate Justice 1807-1826. (opinions)

Thomas Todd was born in King and Queen County, Virginia, on January 23, 1765. He lost both of his parents at an early age and was raised by a guardian. At the age of sixteen, Todd served in the Revolutionary War for six months and then returned home to attend Liberty Hall (now Washington and Lee University). Upon graduation in 1783, Todd became a tutor at Liberty Hall in exchange for room and board and instruction in the law. In 1784, Todd moved to Danville, Kentucky, which was then still part of Virginia. Kentucky was seeking statehood, and Todd served as the clerk at five conventions held for that purpose. He was admitted to the bar in 1788 and entered the practice of law. Todd served as secretary to the State Legislature when Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792, and when the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the State's highest court, was created in 1789, he became its chief clerk. In 1801, Todd was appointed a Justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and in 1806 he was elevated to Chief Justice. On February 28, 1807, President Thomas Jefferson nominated Todd to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 3, 1807. Todd served on the Supreme Court for eighteen years. He died on February 7, 1826, at the age of sixty-one.

29 Gabriel Duvall, Associate Justice 1811-1835.

Gabriel Duvall was born on December 6, 1752, in Prince Georges County, Maryland. He studied classics and law and was admitted to the bar in 1778. During the Revolutionary War, Duvall served as mustermaster and commissary of stores for the Maryland troops and later as a private in the Maryland militia. He served as Clerk of the Maryland State Convention from 1775 to 1777, and after the Maryland State Government was created in 1777, he served as clerk for the House of Delegates. Duvall was elected to the Maryland State Council in 1782 and to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1787. He served until 1794, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Duvall was re-elected but resigned on March 28, 1796, to become Chief Justice of the General Court of Maryland. President Thomas Jefferson appointed Duvall the first Comptroller of the Treasury on December 15, 1802, and he served nine years in that position. On November 15, 1811, President James Madison nominated Duvall to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment three days later. Duvall served on the Supreme Court for twenty-three years and resigned on January 14, 1835. He died on March 6, 1844, at the age of ninety-one.

30 Joseph Story, Associate Justice 1812-1845. (opinions)

Joseph Story was born on September 18, 1779, in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1798. Story read law in the offices of two Marblehead attorneys and was admitted to the bar in 1801. He established a law practice in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1805, Story served one term in the Massachusetts Legislature, and in 1808 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. After one term, he returned to the Massachusetts Lower House, and in 1811 he was elected Speaker. On November 15, 1811, President James Madison nominated Story to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on November 18, 1811. At the age of thirty-two, Story was the youngest person ever appointed to the Supreme Court. While on the Supreme Court, Story served as delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1820 and was a Professor of Law at Harvard, where he wrote a series of nine commentaries on the law, each of which was published in several editions. Story served on the Supreme Court for thirty-three years. He died on September 10, 1845, at the age of sixty-five.

31 Smith Thompson, Associate Justice 1823-1843. (opinions)

Smith Thompson was born about January 17, 1768, in Dutchess County, New York. He was graduated from Princeton University in 1788 and taught school and read law with an attorney in Poughkeepsie. In 1793, he joined a Poughkeepsie law firm. In 1800, Thompson was elected to the New York State Legislature, and one year later he served as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention. In 1802, Thompson was appointed State District Attorney for the Middle District of New York, but before assuming his duties he was appointed to the New York Supreme Ct. He served there as an Associate Justice for twelve years and was named Chief Justice in 1814. Thompson resigned from the New York Supreme Court in 1818 to accept an appointment as Secretary of the Navy from President James Monroe. He served in the cabinet until 1823 when, on December 8, President Monroe nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States. Thompson gave up plans to run for President in 1824 and accepted the Supreme Court appointment. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 19, 1823. Thompson served on the Supreme Court for twenty years. In 1828, while still on the Court, he made an unsuccessful run for Governor of New York. Thompson died on December 18, 1843, at the age of seventy-five.

32 Robert Trimble, Associate Justice 1826-1828. (opinions)

Robert Trimble was born in Augusta County, Virginia (now West Virginia), on November 17, 1776, and grew up in Kentucky. Trimble attended what is now Transylvania University and read law under two attorneys. He was admitted to the bar in 1803 and established a law practice in Paris, Kentucky. Trimble was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1802 and served one term. In 1807, he was appointed to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He resigned the following year and returned to his law practice. Trimble served as United States District Attorney from 1813 to 1817 but declined several other public offices, including the Chief Justiceship of Kentucky in 1810. President James Madison appointed Trimble to the District Court of Kentucky in 1817, and he served eight years in that position. President John Quincy Adams nominated Trimble to the Supreme Court of the United States on April 11, 1826. The Senate confirmed the appointment on May 9, 1826. Trimble served on the Supreme Court for two years and died on August 25, 1828, at the age of fifty-one.

33 John McLean, Associate Justice 1830-1861. (opinions)

John McLean was born in Morris County, New Jersey, on March 11, 1785. His family soon moved to western Virginia, then to Kentucky, and settled in Warren County, Ohio, in 1797. McLean began his legal career in Cincinnati in 1804 by working in the office of the clerk of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas and reading law in the office of a Cincinnati attorney. He was admitted to the bar in 1807 and moved to Lebanon, Ohio, where he combined a law practice with publication of a weekly newspaper. Beginning in 1810, he devoted himself fully to his law practice. McLean was appointed an examiner in the Federal Land Office in Cincinnati in 1811. In 1812, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Re-elected two years later, he resigned in 1816 to take a seat on the Ohio Supreme Ct. In 1822, President James Monroe appointed McLean Commissioner of the General Land Office in Washington, D.C., and one year later McLean was appointed Postmaster General. President Andrew Jackson nominated McLean to the Supreme Court of the United States on March 6, 1829. The Senate confirmed the appointment the following day. McLean served on the Supreme Court for nearly thirty-two years. He died on April 4, 1861, at the age of seventy-six.

34 Henry Baldwin, Associate Justice 1830-1844. (opinions)

Henry Baldwin was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on January 14, 1780. He attended Yale College and was graduated in 1797. He moved immediately to Philadelphia, where he read law in a law office and was soon admitted to the Pennsylvania bar. He moved to Pittsburgh, where he established a law practice with two partners. Baldwin also became joint owner of a newspaper and other business enterprises. He served on the City's Public Safety Council during the War of 1812. In 1816, Baldwin was elected to the Unites States House of Representatives. He served as Chairman of the House Committee on Domestic Manufactures and was twice re-elected but was forced to resign because of ill health in 1822. Baldwin recovered and resumed his law practice and business interests in 1824, along with his civic activities and his role as an unofficial political leader of Allegheny County. On January 4, 1830, President Andrew Jackson nominated Baldwin to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Baldwin served on the Supreme Court for fourteen years. He died on April 21, 1844, at the age of sixty-four.

35 James M. Wayne, Associate Justice 1835-1867. (opinions)

James M. Wayne was born in Savannah, Georgia, around 1790. He was graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1808 and read law under three different lawyers in Savannah, Georgia, and New Haven, Connecticut. Wayne was admitted to the bar in 1811 and entered a law partnership in Savannah. During the War of 1812, Wayne served with a volunteer Georgia militia unit. He was elected to the Georgia State Legislature in 1815 and became Mayor of Savannah in 1817. In 1820, Wayne was elected to the Savannah Court of Common Pleas, and he was appointed to the Superior Court of Georgia two years later. Wayne left the Court in 1828 and ran successfully for election to the United States House of Representatives. He was re-elected twice and became Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Relations. President Andrew Jackson nominated Wayne to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 7, 1835, and the Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Wayne served on the Supreme Court for thirty-two years. He died on July 5, 1867, at the age of seventy-seven.

36 Philip P. Barbour, Associate Justice 1836-1841. (opinions)

Philip P. Barbour was born in Orange County, Virginia, on May 25, 1783. He attended local public schools and, at the age of seventeen, began reading law. He moved to Kentucky to practice but soon returned to Virginia where he attended one session of the College of William and Mary in 1801. He was admitted to the Virginia bar and established a law practice the following year. Barbour was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1812. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1814 and was re-elected to four additional terms. He served as Speaker of the House from 1821 to 1823. Barbour did not seek re-election to the House in 1824 but accepted an appointment as a Judge on the General Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was chosen President of the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1829. Barbour was elected for the sixth time to Congress in 1827. At the end of the term in 1830, he accepted an appointment from President Andrew Jackson to the United States District Court in Virginia. Five years later, on February 28, 1835, President Jackson nominated Barbour to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 15, 1836. He served on the Supreme Court for four years and died on February 25, 1841, at the age of fifty-seven.

37 John Catron, Associate Justice 1837-1865. (opinions)

John Catron was born of German ancestry in Pennsylvania in approximately 1786, but little is known about his early years. They appear to have been spent in Virginia and Kentucky. There is no record of his schooling. In 1812, Catron moved to the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee and served under General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. He was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1815, and in 1818 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he established a practice specializing in land law. In 1824, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals. In 1831, the Legislature created the office of Chief Justice of the Court and Catron was elected to the position. Under a further reorganization in 1834, the position of Chief Justice was abolished. Catron returned to private practice and became active in national politics. When Congress expanded the Supreme Court of the United States from seven to nine members, President Andrew Jackson nominated Catron to one of the new seats on March 3, 1837. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 8, 1837. Catron served on the Supreme Court for twenty-eight years. He died on May 30, 1865, at the age of seventy-nine.

38 John McKinley, Associate Justice 1838-1852. (opinions)

John McKinley was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on May 1, 1780, but at an early age moved with his family to Kentucky. He studied law on his own and was admitted to the bar in 1800. McKinley practiced law for a time in Frankfort, the state capital, and Louisville, the commercial center. McKinley then moved to Alabama and settled in Huntsville, where he became active in politics. McKinley was elected to the Alabama State Legislature in 1820, 1831, and 1836. In 1826, the Legislature elected him to the United States Senate, where he served until 1831. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1833 and served one term. In 1837, Congress expanded the Supreme Court from seven to nine members. In that same year, the Alabama Legislature re-elected McKinley to the Unites Sates Senate. However, McKinley accepted an appointment to one of the two new Supreme Court seats from President Martin Van Buren on September 18, 1837. The Senate confirmed the appointment on September 25, 1837. McKinley served on the Supreme Court for fourteen years. He died on July 19, 1852, at the age of seventy-two.

39 Peter V. Daniel, Associate Justice 1842-1860. (opinions)

Peter V. Daniel was born in Stafford County, Virginia, on April 24, 1784. He was educated by tutors and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) for one year from 1802 to 1803. Daniel then returned to Virginia and read law in Richmond under Edmund Randolph, who had been Secretary of State and Attorney General under President George Washington. Daniel was admitted to the bar in 1808 and established a law practice. The following year, he was elected to the Virginia State Legislature. In 1812, he became a member of the Virginia Privy Council, an executive advisory and review body. In 1818, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, retaining his Council seat. He occupied both of these positions for the next seventeen years. President Andrew Jackson appointed Daniel to the United States District Court for Eastern Virginia in 1836. President Martin Van Buren nominated Daniel to the Supreme Court of the United States on February 26, 1841. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 2, 1841. Daniel served on the Supreme Court for eighteen years. He died on May 31, 1860, at the age of seventy-six.

40 Samuel Nelson, Associate Justice 1845-1872. (opinions)

Samuel Nelson was born in Hebron, New York, on November 10, 1792. He was graduated from Middlebury College in 1813 and read law in a law firm in Salem, New York. Nelson was admitted to the bar in 1817 and established a practice in Cortland, New York. Nelson served as Postmaster of Cortland from 1820 to 1823 and as a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1821. In 1823, Nelson was appointed to the Sixth Circuit of New York. He served on the New York Supreme Court from 1831 to 1845, eight years as Chief Justice of that Court. President John Tyler nominated Nelson to the Supreme Court of the United States on February 4, 1845. The Senate confirmed the appointment ten days later. In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Nelson to a Commission established to settle United States claims against Great Britain, arising out of the latter's assistance to the Confederacy during the Civil War. The proceedings resulted in an award of $15.5 million in compensation to the United States. On November 28, 1872, Nelson retired from the Supreme Court after twenty-seven years of service. He died on December 13, 1873, at the age of eighty-one.

41 Levi Woodbury, Associate Justice 1845-1851. (opinions)

Levi Woodbury was born on December 22, 1789, in Francestown, New Hampshire. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1809, read law, and attended Tapping Reeve Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and practiced law in Francestown and nearby Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1816, Woodbury was appointed Clerk of the State Senate, and after one year he was placed on the New Hampshire Superior Court, where he served until 1823, when he was elected Governor of New Hampshire. In 1825, Woodbury was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives and became Speaker. Later the same year the State Legislature elected him to the United States Senate, where he served until 1831. President Andrew Jackson appointed Woodbury Secretary of the Navy in 1831. Three years later, the President appointed him Secretary of the Treasury, in which he served until 1841when he was again elected to the United States Senate. President James K. Polk nominated Woodbury to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 23, 1845. The Senate confirmed the appointment on January 3, 1846, making him the first Associate Justice to have attended a law school. Woodbury served on the Supreme Court for five years and died on September 4, 1851, at the age of sixty-one.

42 Robert C. Grier, Associate Justice 1846-1870. (opinions)

Robert C. Grier was born March 5, 1794, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was tutored by his father until age seventeen, when he enrolled in Dickinson College. Grier was graduated in 1812 at the age of eighteen and remained at Dickinson College for one year as an instructor. Grier continued his teaching career at a small school headed by his father in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, where he taught subjects ranging from mathematics to Greek and in 1815 succeeded his father as principal of Northumberland Academy. While teaching, Grier read law and passed the bar in 1817. He began a practice immediately in Bloomberg, Pennsylvania, and later practiced law for fifteen years in Danville, Pennsylvania. On May 4, 1833, Grier was appointed to the newly created State District Court of Allegheny County and served there for thirteen years. On August 3, 1846, President James K. Polk nominated Grier to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on August 4, 1846. Grier served twenty-three years on the Supreme Court. He discontinued circuit riding in 1862 and retired on January 31, 1870. He died less than one year later, on September 25, 1870, at the age of seventy-six.

43 Benjamin R. Curtis, Associate Justice 1851-1857. (opinions)

Benjamin R. Curtis was born on November 4, 1809, in Watertown, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1829, and entered Harvard Law School. Curtis established a law practice in Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1831 and received his law degree in 1832. In 1834, he moved to Boston and joined a law firm. He was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1849, where he was appointed chairman of a committee charged with the reform of state judicial procedures. Two years later, Curtis presented the Massachusetts Practice Act of 1851. It was considered a model of judicial reform and was approved by the legislature without amendment. President Millard Fillmore nominated Curtis to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 11, 1851, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on December 29, 1851. Curtis resigned from the Supreme Court on September 30, 1857, after almost six years of service, and returned to his law practice in Boston. During the following fifteen years, he argued cases before the Supreme Court on a number of occasions. He died on September 15, 1874, at the age of sixty-four.

44 John A. Campbell, Associate Justice 1853-1861. (opinions)

John A. Campbell was born near Washington, Georgia, on June 24, 1811. He was graduated from the University of Georgia in 1825 at the age of fourteen. He attended West Point Military Academy for three years but withdrew following the death of his father. After reading law for one year, Campbell was admitted to the Georgia bar. He moved to Alabama and established a law practice in Montgomery. In 1837 he moved to Mobile and was elected to the Alabama State Legislature. He was re-elected in 1843. President Franklin Pierce nominated Campbell to the Supreme Court of the United States on March 21, 1853, and the Senate confirmed the appointment four days later. When the South seceded from the Union, Campbell represented the southern states in an unsuccessful effort to mediate the impending conflict with the Lincoln Administration. Campbell resigned from the Court on April 30, 1861. From 1862 to 1865, he served in the Confederacy as Assistant Secretary of War for conscription. When the War ended, Campbell was imprisoned by the Union Army for several months. He was released by order of President Andrew Johnson and moved to New Orleans, where he re-established a law practice. Campbell returned to the Supreme Court on several occasions to argue cases and died on March 12, 1889, at the age of seventy-seven.

45 Nathan Clifford, Associate Justice, 1858-1881. (opinions)

Nathan Clifford was born on August 18, 1803, in Rumney, New Hampshire. After reading law in the office of a local attorney, he was admitted to the bar in 1827 and moved to Newfield, Maine, to establish a law practice. Clifford was elected to the lower house of the Maine legislature in 1830 for a one-year term and was re-elected three times , serving as its Speaker during the last two terms. He was then elected Attorney General of Maine by the State Legislature and served in that position from 1834 to 1838. In 1838, Clifford was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms. Defeated in a bid for a third term, he returned to private law practice in 1843. President James K. Polk appointed Clifford Attorney General of the United States in 1846. Two years later, President Polk appointed Clifford United States Minister to Mexico. Clifford returned to Maine in 1849 and resumed his law practice in the City of Portland. Six years later, on December 9, 1857, President James Buchanan nominated Clifford to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on January 12, 1858. Clifford served on the Supreme Court for twenty-three years. He died on July 25, 1881, at the age of seventy-seven.

46 Noah H. Swayne, Associate Justice 1862-1881. (opinions)

Noah H. Swayne was born in Frederick County, Virginia, on December 7, 1804. At an early age he studied medicine under a physician in Alexandria, Virginia, but he eventually abandoned medicine to read law with an attorney in Warrenton, Virginia. He was admitted to the bar in 1823. Because of his opposition to slavery, in 1824 Swayne moved to the free state of Ohio. The following year he established a practice in Coshocton and was soon elected Prosecuting Attorney of Coshocton County. In 1829, he was elected to the State Legislature. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson appointed Swayne United States Attorney for Ohio. He moved to Columbus to discharge his new duties and retained the position under President Martin Van Buren until 1841. Swayne was elected to the Columbus City Council in 1834, and in 1836 served another term in the State Legislature as a representative of Franklin County. On January 21, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Swayne to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on January 24, 1862. Swayne retired from the Supreme Court on January 25, 1881 after serving for eighteen years. He died on June 8, 1884, at the age of seventy-nine.

47 Samuel F. Miller, Associate Justice 1862-1890. (opinions)

Samuel F. Miller was born in Richmond, Kentucky, on April 5, 1816. He studied medicine at Transylvania University and received a degree in 1838. He became a physician and practiced for twelve years in Knox County. Miller developed an interest in legal and political matters and became a Justice of the Peace and member of the Knox County Court, an administrative body, in the 1840s. Miller shared an office with an attorney and began reading law. He was admitted to the bar in 1847 and established a law practice. Miller was opposed to slavery. When the Kentucky Constitutional Convention of 1849 proved inflexible on the question of eventual modification and abolition of slavery, Miller chose to move to a free state. He freed his slaves and settled in Keokuk, Iowa, where he joined a law firm and specialized in land-title, steamboat, and commercial law. Miller also became active politically and campaigned unsuccessfully for nomination as Governor in 1861. On July 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Miller to the Supreme Court of the United States as the first Justice from west of the Mississippi River. The Senate confirmed the appointment the same day. Miller served on the Supreme Court for twenty-eight years. He died on October 13, 1890, at the age of seventy-four.

48 David Davis, Associate Justice 1862-1877. (opinions)

David Davis was born in Cecil County, Maryland, on March 9, 1815. After graduation from Kenyon College in 1832, he moved to Massachusetts where he read law with a local judge. He then enrolled in Yale Law School and was graduated in 1835. Davis moved to Pekin, Illinois, to establish a practice, and one year later moved to Bloomington. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1845 and to the Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1847. In the Convention, Davis championed a popularly elected state judiciary to replace the existing system of election by the legislature. His views prevailed, and in 1848 he was elected a Circuit Court Judge. Re-elected twice, he served until 1862. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were among the lawyers who tried cases in his court. On December 1, 1862, President Lincoln nominated Davis to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment one week later. Davis had served fourteen years on the Court when he was elected to the United States Senate by the Illinois State Legislature. He resigned from the Supreme Court and served one term in the Senate, retiring in 1883. Davis died three years later, on June 26, 1886, at the age of seventy-one.

49 Stephen J. Field, Associate Justice 1863-1897. (opinions)

Stephen J. Field was born on November 4, 1816, in Haddam, Connecticut. He was graduated in 1837 from Williams College, and for the next four years read law with his brother's law firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1841 and practiced law with his brother for seven years. In 1849, after a trip to Europe, Field settled in Marysville, California. In 1850, he became the chief local administrative officer of Marysville. When California was admitted to the Union that same year, Field was elected to the State Legislature. There he drafted the criminal and civil codes for the new State. After he was defeated in a bid for the State Senate in 1851, Field resumed the private practice of law. In 1857, he was elected to the California Supreme Court, where he served for six years. On March 6, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Field to a newly created seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment four days later. Field retired from the Supreme Court on December 1, 1897, after thirty-four years of service. He died on April 9, 1899, at the age of eighty-two.

50 William Strong, Associate Justice 1870-1880. (opinions)

William Strong was born in Somers, Connecticut, on May 6, 1808. He was graduated from Yale College in 1828 and taught school in Connecticut and New Jersey for four years. Strong also obtained a graduate degree from Yale in 1831 and attended its Law School briefly in 1832. He moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he was admitted to the bar in 1832 and established a law practice. Strong was elected to the Reading City Council. In 1846, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives; he was re-elected two years later. In 1857, Strong was elected to a fifteen-year term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where he served for eleven years. He resigned in 1868 to resume his law practice. On February 7, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant nominated Strong to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on February 18, 1870. While on the Court, he was appointed a member of the electoral commission which decided the disputed Presidential election of 1876 in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes. Strong served on the Supreme Court for ten years. He retired on December 14, 1880, and died on August 19, 1895, at the age of eighty-seven.

51 Joseph P. Bradley, Associate Justice 1870-1892. (opinions)

Joseph P. Bradley was born in Berne, New York, on March 14, 1813. He attended a country school and began teaching at the age of sixteen. He attended Rutgers University several years later and was graduated in 1836. Bradley studied law in the Office of the Collector of the Port of Newark, New Jersey, and was admitted to the bar in 1839. For thirty years, he specialized in the practice of patent, commercial, and railroad law. In 1862, after lobbying in Washington for a compromise settlement of the Civil War, Bradley a Unionist candidate for the United States House of Representatives but did not win election. President Ulysses S. Grant nominated Bradley to the Supreme Court of the United States on February 7, 1870. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 21, 1870. In 1877, Bradley served on the electoral commission created to decide the outcome of the disputed 1876 presidential election. The commission was divided seven to seven on partisan lines. Bradley voted with the Republicans on all issues, making Rutherford B. Hayes President by a margin of one electoral vote. Bradley served on the Supreme Court for twenty-one years. He died on January 22, 1892, at the age of seventy-eight.

52 Ward Hunt, Associate Justice 1873-1882. (opinions)

Ward Hunt was born in Utica, New York, on June 14, 1810. He was graduated from Union College in 1828 and studied law at a private academy in Litchfield, Connecticut. He continued his law studies as a clerk in the office of a Utica judge. Hunt was admitted to the bar in 1831 and established a law partnership in Utica, where he practiced for thirty-one years. In 1839, Hunt served one term in the New York Assembly, and in 1844 he was elected Mayor of Utica. In 1853, Hunt ran for a seat on the New York Supreme Court but lost the election. He was elected a judge of the New York Court of Appeals in 1865, the State's highest court, and in 1868 he became Chief Judge. The following year, the New York court system was reorganized, and Hunt became a Commissioner of Appeals, a position he held for three years. President Ulysses S. Grant nominated Hunt to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 3, 1872. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 11, 1872. Hunt served on the Supreme Court for nine years and retired from the Court in 1882. He died on March 24, 1886, at the age of seventy-five.

53 John Marshall Harlan, Associate Justice 1877-1911. (opinions)

John Marshall Harlan was born in Boyle County, Kentucky, on June 1, 1833. He was graduated from Centre College in 1850 at the age of seventeen. Harlan studied law at Transylvania University for two years and read law in his father's law office. In 1853, he was admitted to the bar and began to practice law. In 1858, Harlan served for one year as Franklin County Judge. He ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1859 but was narrowly defeated. During the Civil War, Harlan joined the Union Army and served as an officer. In 1863, Harlan resigned his commission and was elected Attorney General of Kentucky, serving for four years. He was the Republican candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 1875. President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Harlan to the Supreme Court of the United States on October 17, 1877. The Senate confirmed the appointment on November 29, 1877. While on the Court, Harlan was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892 to represent the United States in the arbitration with Great Britain over fishing rights in the Bering Sea. Harlan served on the Supreme Court for thirty-four years, a tenure exceeded by only four other Justices. He died on October 14, 1911, at the age of seventy-eight.

54 William B. Woods, Associate Justice 1881-1887. (opinions)

William B. Woods was born on August 3, 1824, in Newark, Ohio. He attended Western Reserve College for three years and then transferred to Yale College, where he received an undergraduate degree in 1845. Woods returned to Newark and read law with a local attorney. He was admitted to the bar in 1847, and he established a law practice with his former mentor. In 1856, he was elected Mayor of Newark. Two years later he was elected to the Ohio State House of Representatives and became Speaker. Woods joined the Union Army in 1862. He served at Shiloh and Vicksburg and with General William Sherman. He was mustered out of service in 1866 with the rank of Major General. He remained in the South and established a law practice in Bentonville, Alabama. Woods was elected Chancellor of the Middle Chancery Division of Alabama in 1868. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Woods to the Circuit Court for the Fifth Circuit in 1869. President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Woods to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 15, 1880. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 21, 1880, making him the first Associate Justice appointed from a Confederate State after the Civil War. He served six years on the Supreme Court and died on May 14, 1887, at the age of sixty-two.

55 Stanley Matthews, Associate Justice 1881-1889. (opinions)

Stanley Matthews was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 21, 1824. After graduation from Kenyon College in 1840, he read law in Cincinnati. He moved to Maury County, Tennessee, and was admitted to the bar at the age of eighteen. Two years later, Matthews returned to Cincinnati, where he was appointed Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Hamilton County. From 1851 to 1853, he served as a Judge of the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. Matthews was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1855, and in 1858 he was appointed United States Attorney for Southern Ohio. Matthews served as a volunteer in the Union Army during the Civil War but resigned his commission in 1863 when he was elected a Judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati. Two years later, he returned to private practice. In 1877, he served as Counsel to the Hayes-Tilden Electoral Commission, and later that year, he was appointed United States Senator from Ohio to fill a vacancy. President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Matthews to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 26, 1881, but the Senate took no action on his confirmation. Renominated by President James A. Garfield on March 14, 1881, Matthews was confirmed by the Senate on May 12, 1881. Matthews died on March 22, 1889, at the age of sixty-four.

56 Horace Gray, Associate Justice 1882-1902. (opinions)

Horace Gray was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 24, 1828. He enrolled in Harvard College at the age of thirteen and was graduated four years later. After traveling abroad, he received his law degree at Harvard in 1849. Gray was admitted to the bar in 1851 and practiced law for the next thirteen years. In 1854, he began his judicial career as a reporter for the State Supreme Court. During his tenure, Gray edited sixteen volumes of court records which, with some independent legal writing, earned him a reputation for historical scholarship and legal research. While working as a court reporter, Gray also served as a counselor to the Governor of Massachusetts on legal and constitutional questions and, in particular, issues arising from the Civil War. Gray was appointed to the State Supreme Court as an Associate Justice in 1864, the youngest appointee in the history of the Court. He was elevated to Chief Justice nine years later. President Chester A. Arthur nominated Gray to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 19, 1881, and the Senate confirmed the appointment the following day. Gray served on the Supreme Court for twenty years. He submitted his resignation on July 9, 1902, to become effective on the appointment of his successor. Gray died on September 15, 1902, at the age of seventy-four.

57 Samuel Blatchford, Associate Justice 1882-1893. (opinions)

Samuel Blatchford was born on March 9, 1820, in New York, New York. At the age of thirteen, he enrolled in Columbia College and was graduated four years later. While serving as private secretary to the Governor of New York from 1837 to 1841, Blatchford studied law. After being admitted to the bar in 1842, he practiced with his father's New York law firm for three years, and then joined a firm in Auburn, New York. Blatchford compiled a twenty-four volume set of previously uncollected decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Although he was offered a judgeship on New York's highest court, he chose to continue his law practice. Blatchford accepted his first judicial appointment on May 3, 1867, to the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. Five years later he was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On March 13, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur nominated Blatchford to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two weeks later. Blatchford served on the Supreme Court for eleven years. He died on July 7, 1893, at the age of seventy-three.

58 Lucius Q.C. Lamar, Associate Justice 1888-1893. (opinions)

Lucius Q.C. Lamar was born in Eatontan, Georgia, on September 17, 1825. He was graduated from Emory College in 1845 and read law in Macon, Georgia. After his admission to the bar in 1847, he moved to Oxford, Mississippi, to practice law. In 1852, Lamar returned to Georgia, established a law practice in Covington, and the next year won election to the Georgia Legislature. He returned to Mississippi in 1855, and in 1857 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Lamar resigned from Congress on the eve of the Civil War and served for two years as an officer in the Confederate Army. For the last two years of the War, Lamar served as a Judge Advocate for the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee. At the end of the War, Lamar returned to Mississippi to practice law. He received a pardon for his services to the Confederacy, and in 1872 he was re-elected to the United States House of Representatives. In 1877, he was elected to the United States Senate. Lamar resigned from the Senate during his second term to accept an appointment as Secretary of the Interior. President Cleveland nominated Lamar to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 6, 1887. The Senate confirmed the appointment on January 16, 1888. Lamar served five years on the Supreme Court and died on January 23, 1893, at the age of sixty-seven.

59 David J. Brewer, Associate Justice 1890-1910. (opinions)

David J. Brewer was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, in what is now Izmir, Turkey, on June 20, 1837. His missionary family returned to the United States one year after Brewer's birth and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Brewer attended Wesleyan University for two years and then transferred to Yale, where he was graduated in 1856. After reading law for one year, Brewer attended Albany Law School and was graduated in 1858. He then moved to Kansas, where he was admitted to the bar and established a law practice. In 1861, Brewer was appointed Commissioner of the Circuit Court in Leavenworth. Two years later, he was elected a Judge of the Probate and Criminal Courts of Leavenworth County. From 1865 to 1869, he served on the United States District Court for Kansas. Brewer was elected to the Kansas Supreme Court in 1870 and served for fourteen years. In 1884, President Chester A. Arthur appointed Brewer to the Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit. Five years later, on December 4, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Brewer to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 18, 1889. Brewer served on the Supreme Court for twenty years. He died on March 28, 1910, at the age of seventy-two.

60 Henry B. Brown, Associate Justice 1891-1906. (opinions)

Henry B. Brown was born in South Lee, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1836. After graduation from Yale College in 1856, he studied abroad for one year. Upon his return to New England, Brown began reading law in Ellington, Connecticut, and then pursued further studies at the law schools of Yale and Harvard. In 1859, at the age of twenty-three, Brown moved to Detroit, Michigan, and was admitted to the bar. He then established a law practice and developed a specialty in maritime law. In the first year of his practice, Brown was appointed a Deputy United States Marshal for Detroit. Three years later, he was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Brown also held an interim appointment as Circuit Judge for Wayne County in 1868. In 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Brown to the United States District Court for Eastern Michigan, where he served for fourteen years. President Benjamin Harrison nominated Brown to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 23, 1890, and the Senate confirmed the appointment six days later. Brown retired from the Supreme Court on May 28, 1906, and died on September 4, 1913, at the age of seventy-seven.

61 George Shiras, Jr., Associate Justice 1892-1903. (opinions)

George Shiras, Jr., was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 1832. He began his college education at Ohio University, and after two years transferred to Yale, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1853. Shiras enrolled in Yale Law School but soon left New Haven to read law in Pittsburgh. Shiras was admitted to the bar in 1855 and entered practice with his brother in Dubuque, Iowa. He returned to Pittsburgh three years later and joined the law firm, where he specialized in railroad and corporate law. Shiras practiced law for thirty-seven years. In 1881, he refused an offer of election to the United States Senate from the Pennsylvania State Legislature. He served as a Presidential elector in 1888. President Benjamin Harrison nominated Shiras to the Supreme Court of the Untied States on July 19, 1892. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 26, 1892. Upon receiving the nomination, Shiras declared his intention to retire after ten years on the Supreme Court, and he did so on February 23, 1903. He died on August 2, 1924, at the age of ninety-two.

62 Howell E. Jackson, Associate Justice 1893-1895. (opinions)

Howell E. Jackson was born on April 8, 1832, in Paris, Tennessee. He was graduated from West Tennessee College in 1849, and studied law at the University of Virginia from 1851 to 1852 and at Cumberland College in 1856. He was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in his hometown of Paris. In 1859, he moved to Memphis and established a law practice. Although opposed to secession, Jackson served the Confederacy during the Civil War as the receiver of stolen property. In 1875, he was appointed to the Court of Arbitration for Western Tennessee, a provisional court established to liquidate the backlog of cases created by the War. In 1880, Jackson was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives and in 1881 to the United States Senate. He resigned his Senate seat before the end of his term to accept an appointment as a Federal Judge on the Sixth Circuit in 1886. In 1891, he became a judge of the newly established United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. On February 2, 1893, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on February 18, 1893. Jackson contracted tuberculosis in 1894 but he continued to serve on the Supreme Court until his death on August 8, 1895, at the age of sixty-three.

63 Rufus W. Peckham, Associate Justice 1896-1909. (opinions)

Rufus W. Peckham was born on November 8, 1838, in Albany, New York. He was educated at the Albany Boys' Academy and studied privately in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After one year in Europe, Peckham returned to Albany and read law in his father's office and was admitted to the bar in 1859. Peckham was elected Albany County Attorney in 1869. In 1881, he was named Corporate Counsel to the City of Albany and served two years. In this position, he successfully prosecuted a number of criminal cases in railroad-express car robberies. In 1882, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the New York Court of Appeals, the State's highest tribunal. In 1883, he was elected to the New York Supreme Court, and three years later he was elected to the Court of Appeals. During these years, Peckham was politically active. He was instrumental in preventing the New York City Democratic organization from gaining control of the State Democratic Party. Peckham had served on the New York Court of Appeals for nine years when, on December 3, 1895, President Grover Cleveland nominated him to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 9, 1895. Peckham served on the Supreme Court for thirteen years and died on October 24, 1909, at the age of seventy.

64 Joseph McKenna, Associate Justice 1898-1925. (opinions)

Joseph McKenna was born on August 10, 1843, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the mid-1850s, the McKenna family moved to northern California, where McKenna studied law at the Benicia Collegiate Institute. He was graduated in 1865 and admitted to the California bar in 1866. Six months later, McKenna was elected District Attorney for Solano County and served two terms. He practiced law and became increasingly active in politics. In 1875, McKenna was elected to the California House of Representatives and retired after one term and an unsuccessful bid for Speaker of the House. After two unsuccessful attempts, McKenna finally won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1885. He was re-elected three times. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison appointed McKenna to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. McKenna served in that position until he was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President William McKinley in 1897. On December 16, 1897, President McKinley nominated McKenna to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on January 21, 1898. McKenna served on the Supreme Court for twenty-six years and retired on January 5, 1925. He died on November 21, 1926, at the age of eighty-three.

65 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Associate Justice 1902-1932. (opinions)

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was born on March 8, 1841, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1861. Holmes served for three years with the Twentieth Volunteers during the Civil War. He was wounded three times. In 1866 he returned to Harvard and received his law degree. The following year Homes was admitted to the bar and joined a law firm in Boston, where he practiced for fifteen years. Holmes taught law at his alma mater, edited the American Law Review, and lectured at the Lowell Institute. In 1881, he published a series of twelve lectures on the common law, which was translated into several languages. In 1882, while working as a full professor at Harvard Law School, Holmes was appointed by the Governor to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. He served on that Court for twenty years, the last three as Chief Justice. On December 2, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Homes to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment two days later. Holmes served on the Supreme Court for twenty-nine years and retired on January 12, 1932. He died on March 6, 1935, two days short of his ninety-fourth birthday.

66 William R. Day, Associate Justice 1903-1922. (opinions)

William R. Day was born on April 17, 1849, in Ravenna, Ohio, and was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1870. After privately reading law for one year, Day studied law at the University of Michigan Law School for one year. He was admitted to the bar in 1872 and practiced law in Canton, Ohio, for the next twenty-five years. In 1866, Day was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in Canton but resigned after six months to return to his law practice. President William McKinley appointed Day First Assistant Secretary of State in 1897. On April 26, 1898, Day was elevated to Secretary. He served in that position until August 26, of that year, when he was appointed as a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference, which ended the Spanish-American War. In 1899, President McKinley appointed Day to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Four years later, on February 19, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt nominated Day to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment four days later. Day served on the Supreme Court for nineteen years. He retired on November 13, 1922, and accepted an appointment from President Warren G. Harding to serve on the Mixed Claims Commission to settle outstanding claims from World War I. Day died on July 9, 1923, at the age of seventy-four.

67 William H. Moody, Associate Justice 1906-1910. (opinions)

William H. Moody was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, on December 23, 1853, and raised in nearby Danvers. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1876 and enrolled in Harvard Law School but left the Law School after one year to continue his legal studies with a Boston law firm. In 1878, he was admitted to the bar and established a law practice in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Ten years later, Moody was elected City Solicitor for Haverhill, and in 1890 he became District Attorney for the Eastern District of Massachusetts. In 1895, Moody won a special election to the United States House of Representatives and was re-elected three times. Moody resigned his House seat in 1902 to accept an appointment as Secretary of the Navy under President Theodore Roosevelt. From 1904 to 1906, he served as Attorney General of the United States. President Roosevelt nominated Moody to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 12, 1906. Moody retired from the Supreme Court on November 20, 1910 , after nearly four years of service. He died on July 2, 1917, at the age of sixty-three.

68 Horace H. Lurton, Associate Justice 1910-1914. (opinions)

Horace H. Lurton was born in Newport, Kentucky, on February 26, 1844, and raised in Clarksville, Tennessee. He attended the University of Chicago in 1860 but joined the Confederate Army at the outbreak of the Civil War. Captured by Union soldiers, he soon escaped, but he was recaptured and released from prison just before the War ended. Lurton resumed his studies and was graduated from Cumberland University Law School in 1867. He returned to Clarksville and began the practice of law. In 1875, at the age of thirty-one, he was appointed by the Governor of Tennessee to the Sixth Chancery Division of Tennessee and became the youngest Chancellor in the history of the State. He resigned after three years and resumed his practice. Lurton was elected to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1886, and became its Chief Judge in 1893. Later that year, President Grover Cleveland appointed Lurton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where he served for sixteen years. President William H. Taft nominated Lurton to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 13, 1909. The Senate confirmed the appointment one week later. Lurton served on the Supreme Court for four years. He died on July 12, 1914, at the age of seventy.

69 Willis Van Devanter, Associate Justice 1911-1937. (opinions)

Willis Van Devanter was born on April 17, 1859, in Marion, Indiana. He received a law degree from the University of Cincinnati Law School in 1881 and joined his father's law firm in Marion. Three years later, Van Devanter moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, and established his own practice. Van Devanter served as a member of the commission that revised the statutes of the Wyoming Territory in 1886. In 1887, he served as City Attorney of Cheyenne, and in the following year he was elected to the Territorial Legislature. Van Devanter was only thirty years old when, in 1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Chief Justice of the Wyoming Territorial Supreme Court. After Wyoming was admitted to the Union as the forty-fourth State in 1890, Van Devanter resigned as Chief Justice and returned to private practice. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed him an Assistant Attorney General, assigned to the Interior Department. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 1903. President William H. Taft nominated Van Devanter to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 12, 1910. The Senate confirmed the appointment three days later. Van Devanter served on the Supreme Court for twenty-six years. He retired on June 2, 1937, and died on February 8, 1941, at the age of eighty-one.

70 Joseph Rucker Lamar, Associate Justice 1911-1916. (opinions)

Joseph Rucker Lamar was born in Ruckersville, Georgia, on October 14, 1857. He began his college education at the University of Georgia in 1874 and transferred one year later to Bethany College in West Virginia, where he was graduated in 1877. Lamar studied law at Washington and Lee University and clerked for an Augusta lawyer. He was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1878. Lamar practiced law in Georgia from 1880 to 1910, with a few interruptions for public service. In 1886, he was elected to the Georgia Legislature, where he served two terms, and in 1893 the Governor appointed Lamar commissioner to codify Georgia laws. His work on the laws of Georgia was approved in 1895. Lamar was elected to the Georgia Supreme Court in 1903 but resigned to in 1905 to return to private practice. President William H. Taft nominated Lamar to the Supreme Court of the United States on December 12, 1910. The Senate confirmed the appointment three days later. Lamar served on the Supreme Court for five years. He died on January 2, 1916, at the age of fifty-eight.

71 Mahlon Pitney, Associate Justice 1912-1922. (opinions)

Mahlon Pitney was born on February 5, 1858, in Morristown, New Jersey. He was graduated from Princeton University in 1879 and earned a graduate degree three years later. Pitney studied law with his father and was admitted to the bar in 1882. Pitney practiced law for seven years in Dover, New Jersey. When his father was appointed Vice Chancellor of New Jersey in 1889, Pitney returned to Morristown and took over the elder Pitney's practice. Pitney was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1894 and was re-elected in 1896. He resigned before the end of his second term when he was elected to the New Jersey State Senate. He was elected President of the Senate the following year. Pitney was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court for a seven-year term in 1901. In 1908, he was appointed Chancellor, head of both the law and equity branches of the Court. On February 19, 1912, President William H. Taft nominated Pitney to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on March 13, 1912. Pitney retired from the Supreme Court on December 31, 1922, after ten years of service. He died on December 9, 1924, at the age of sixty-six.

72 James Clark McReynolds, Associate Justice 1914-1941. (opinions)

James Clark McReynolds was born in Elkton, Kentucky, on February 3, 1862. He was graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1882, and from the University of Virginia Law School in 1884. McReynolds settled in Nashville, Tennessee, and established a private law practice. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1896. In 1900, Mc Reynolds accepted a position as an adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University and taught there for three years. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed McReynolds the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice. McReynolds resigned from the Department of Justice in 1907 to return to the practice of law, this time in New York, New York. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Attorney General of the United States. On August 19, 1914, President Wilson nominated McReynolds to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate confirmed the appointment on August 29, 1914. McReynolds retired from the Supreme Court on January 31, 1941, after twenty-six years of service. He died on August 24, 1946, at the age of eighty-four.

73 Louis D. Brandeis, Associate Justice 1916-1939. (opinions)

Louis D. Brandeis was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 13, 1856. He attended preparatory school in Dresden, Germany, and was admitted to Harvard Law School in 1874. Following graduation in 1877, Brandeis moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he practiced law. He returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and opened a law office with a law school classmate. During his career in private practice, Brandeis secured enactment of a state law providing low-cost insurance through savings banks, defended municipal control of Boston's subway system, and arbitrated labor disputes in the garment district of New York, New York. Brandeis was active in support of his alma mater and to civic affairs and was one of the founders of the Harvard Law Review. President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 28, 1916, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on June 1, 1916. He retired from the Supreme Court on February 13, 1939, after twenty-two years of service. He died on October 5, 1941, at the age of eighty-four.

74 John H. Clarke, Associate Justice 1916-1922. (opinions)

John H. Clarke was born in Lisbon, Ohio, on September 18, 1857. Following graduation from Western Reserve College in 1877, he was tutored in law by his father and was admitted to the bar in 1878. After practicing law with his father's firm for two years, Clarke moved to Youngstown, Ohio, and established his own practice, specializing in corporate law. He also acquired an ownership in the local newspaper, which was known for its support of progressive reform. He ran for the United States Senate in 1894 but was defeated by the incumbent. In 1897, Clarke left his practice in Youngstown to join a Cleveland law firm. Clarke had been a practicing attorney for thirty-five years when President Woodrow Wilson appointed him in 1914 to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, where he served for two years. On July 14, 1916, President Wilson appointed Clarke to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Senate confirmed the appointment ten days later. Clarke resigned from the Supreme Court on September 18, 1922, to promote American participation in the League of Nations. He died on March 22, 1945, at the age of eighty-seven.

75 George Sutherland, Associate Justice 1922-1938. (opinions)

George Sutherland was born in Buckinghamshire, England, on March 25, 1862. His family emigrated to America one year later and settled in Springville, Utah Territory. Sutherland studied at Brigham Young Academy in Provo, Utah, from 1878 to 1881, and attended the University of Michigan Law School for one year. Sutherland established a law practice in Provo, and after ten years moved to Salt Lake City. When Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896, Sutherland was elected to the first State Senate. Four years later, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. In 1904, Sutherland was elected to the United States Senate and served two six-year terms. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Sutherland Chairman of the advisory committee to the Washington Conference on the Limitation of Naval Armaments. Sutherland also served as United States Consul at the Hague from 1921 to 1922. President Harding nominated Sutherland to the Supreme Court of the United States on September 5, 1922, and the Senate confirmed the appointment the same day. Sutherland retired on January 17, 1938, after fifteen years of service on the Supreme Court. He died on July 18, 1942, at the age of eighty.

76 Pierce Butler, Associate Justice 1923-1939. (opinions)

Pierce Butler was born in Northfield, Minnesota, on March 17, 1866. He attended Carleton College and was graduated in 1887 with degrees in both arts and science. He moved to St. Paul and read law for one year at a law firm and was admitted to the bar in 1888. Three years later, Butler became an assistant county attorney of Ramsey County, which embraces the city of St. Paul. In 1893, he was elected County Attorney and served until 1897. While serving as County Attorney Butler joined a law partnership and eventually became senior partner in a successor firm. In 1910, the Attorney General of the United States engaged Butler to represent the government in a number of antitrust cases. Butler served as Regent of the University of Minnesota from 1907 to 1924. President Warren G. Harding nominated Butler to the Supreme Court of the United States on November 23, 1922. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 21, 1922. Butler served on the Supreme Court for sixteen years and died on November 16, 1939, at the age of seventy-three.

77 Edward T. Sanford, Associate Justice 1923-1930. (opinions)

Edward T. Sanford was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 23, 1865. He was graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1883 and earned three degrees from Harvard University. Sanford then studied foreign languages and economics in France and Germany for one year. Sanford returned to Knoxville where he established a law practice. He was active in many educational, professional, and charitable organizations and also lectured in law at the University of Tennessee from 1898 to 1907. In 1906, Sanford became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, with responsibility for prosecuting violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. One year later, he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General of the United States. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Sanford to the United States District Court of the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee, where he served for fifteen years. President Warren G. Harding nominated Sanford to the Supreme Court of the United States on January 24, 1923, and the Senate confirmed the appointment on January 29, 1923. Sanford served on the Supreme Court for seven years. He died on March 8, 1930, at the age of sixty-four.

78 Owen J. Roberts, Associate Justice 1930-1945. (opinions)

Owen J. Roberts was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1875. He was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1895 and received a law degree in 1898. Roberts was named a University Fellow in 1898 and taught in an adjunct capacity at the University of Penns