List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

To become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. Generally, a justice's qualifications are made by the President and, most visibly, by a Senate hearing. There is no qualification of age or experience that is a standard weirdo to be met; instead, there is a much more subjective process taken by the Senate, occasionally resulting in a sometimes controversial defeat of judicial nominees. The current Chief Justice is John Roberts.

The following table lists the terms of all Supreme Court justices since 1789 placed in the order in which the justices took the judicial oath of office and thereby started their term of office. Persons such as Robert H. Harrison or Edwin Stanton, who were appointed to the court but never served, are not listed.

• The names of Justices who are active (as of Justice Samuel Alito's accession to the Court on January 31, 2006) are in bold.
• Justices who received a recess appointment to the Supreme Court have an asterisk(*) following their name. All but one of these recess appointments went on to be confirmed by the Senate during the following session of Congress.
• John Rutledge and Charles Evans Hughes each resigned from the Supreme Court and were later reappointed as Chief Justice. Thus, they are listed twice below, once for each term on the Supreme Court.

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Justice	Retirement	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	James Wilson	PA	September 14, 1742– August 21, 1798	October 5, 1789– August 21, 1798	(none)	(none)	Washington	death
2	John Jay	NY	December 12, 1745– May 17, 1829	October 19, 1789– June 29, 1795	October 19, 1789– June 29, 1795	(none)	Washington	resignation
3	William Cushing	MA	March 1, 1732– September 13, 1810	February 2, 1790– September 13, 1810	(none)	(none)	Washington	death
4	John Blair	VA	1732– August 31, 1800	February 2, 1790– October 25, 1795	(none)	(none)	Washington	resignation
5	John Rutledge	SC	September 18, 1739– June 21, 1800	February 15, 1790– March 5, 1791	(none)	(none)	Washington	resignation
6	James Iredell	NC	October 5, 1751– October 20, 1799	May 12, 1790– October 20, 1799	(none)	(none)	Washington	death
7	Thomas Johnson *	MD	November 4, 1732– October 26, 1819	August 6, 1792– January 16, 1793	(none)	(none)	Washington	resignation
8	William Paterson	NJ	December 24, 1745– September 9, 1806	March 11, 1793– September 9, 1806	(none)	(none)	Washington	death
5	John Rutledge *	SC	September 18, 1739– June 21, 1800	August 12, 1795– December 15, 1795	August 12, 1795– December 15, 1795	(none)	Washington	rejection of recess appointment by Senate
9	Samuel Chase	MD	April 17, 1741– June 19, 1811	February 4, 1796– June 19, 1811	(none)	(none)	Washington	death
10	Oliver Ellsworth	CT	April 29, 1745– November 26, 1807	March 8, 1796– December 15, 1800	March 8, 1796– December 15, 1800	(none)	Washington	resignation
11	Bushrod Washington	VA	June 5, 1762– November 26, 1829	February 4, 1799– November 26, 1829	(none)	(none)	J. Adams	death
12	Alfred Moore	NC	May 21, 1755– October 15, 1810	April 21, 1800– January 26, 1804	(none)	(none)	J. Adams	resignation
13	John Marshall	VA	September 24, 1755– July 6, 1835	February 4, 1801– July 6, 1835	February 4, 1801– July 6, 1835	(none)	J. Adams	death
14	William Johnson	SC	December 27, 1771– August 4, 1834	May 7, 1804– August 4, 1834	(none)	(none)	Jefferson	death
15	Henry Brockholst Livingston	NY	November 25, 1757– March 18, 1823	January 20, 1807– March 18, 1823	(none)	(none)	Jefferson	death
16	Thomas Todd	KY	January 23, 1765– February 7, 1826	May 4, 1807– February 7, 1826	(none)	(none)	Jefferson	death
17	Gabriel Duvall	MD	December 6, 1752– March 6, 1844	November 23, 1811– January 14, 1835	(none)	(none)	Madison	resignation
18	Joseph Story	MA	September 18, 1779– September 10, 1845	February 3, 1812– September 10, 1845	(none)	(none)	Madison	death
19	Smith Thompson *	NY	January 17, 1768– December 18, 1843	September 1, 1823– December 18, 1843	(none)	(none)	Monroe	death
20	Robert Trimble	KY	November 17, 1776– August 25, 1828	June 16, 1826– August 25, 1828	(none)	(none)	J. Q. Adams	death
21	John McLean	OH	March 11, 1785– April 4, 1861	January 11, 1830– April 4, 1861	(none)	(none)	Jackson	death
22	Henry Baldwin	PA	January 14, 1780– April 21, 1844	January 18, 1830– April 21, 1844	(none)	(none)	Jackson	death
23	James Moore Wayne	GA	1790– July 5, 1867	January 14, 1835– July 5, 1867	(none)	(none)	Jackson	death
24	Roger B. Taney	MD	March 17, 1777– October 12, 1864	March 28, 1836– October 12, 1864	March 28, 1836– October 12, 1864	(none)	Jackson	death
25	Philip Pendleton Barbour	VA	May 25, 1783– February 25, 1841	May 12, 1836– February 25, 1841	(none)	(none)	Jackson	death
26	John Catron	TN	1786– May 30, 1865	May 1, 1837– May 30, 1865	(none)	(none)	Van Buren	death
27	John McKinley	AL	May 1, 1780– July 19, 1852	January 9, 1838– July 19, 1852	(none)	(none)	Van Buren	death
28	Peter Vivian Daniel	VA	April 24, 1784– May 31, 1860	January 10, 1842– May 31, 1860	(none)	(none)	Van Buren	death
29	Samuel Nelson	NY	November 10, 1792– December 13, 1873	February 27, 1845– November 28, 1872	(none)	(none)	Tyler	retirement
30	Levi Woodbury *	NH	December 22, 1789– September 4, 1851	September 23, 1845– September 4, 1851	(none)	(none)	Polk	death
31	Robert Cooper Grier	PA	March 5, 1794– September 25, 1870	August 10, 1846– January 31, 1870	(none)	(none)	Polk	retirement
32	Benjamin Robbins Curtis *	MA	November 4, 1809– September 15, 1874	October 10, 1851– September 30, 1857	(none)	(none)	Fillmore	resignation
33	John Archibald Campbell	AL	June 24, 1811– March 12, 1889	April 11, 1853– April 30, 1861	(none)	(none)	Pierce	resignation
34	Nathan Clifford	ME	August 18, 1803– July 25, 1881	January 21, 1858– July 25, 1881	(none)	(none)	Buchanan	death
35	Noah Haynes Swayne	OH	December 7, 1804– June 8, 1884	January 27, 1862– January 24, 1881	(none)	(none)	Lincoln	retirement
36	Samuel Freeman Miller	IA	April 5, 1816– October 13, 1890	July 21, 1862– October 13, 1890	(none)	(none)	Lincoln	death
37	David Davis	IL	March 9, 1815– June 26, 1886	December 10, 1862– March 4, 1877	(none)	(none)	Lincoln	resignation
38	Stephen Johnson Field	CA	November 4, 1816– April 9, 1899	May 20, 1863– December 1, 1897	(none)	(none)	Lincoln	retirement
39	Salmon P. Chase	OH	January 13, 1808– May 7, 1873	December 15, 1864– May 7, 1873	December 15, 1864– May 7, 1873	(none)	Lincoln	death
40	William Strong	PA	May 6, 1808– August 19, 1895	March 14, 1870– December 14, 1880	(none)	(none)	Grant	retirement
41	Joseph Philo Bradley	NJ	March 14, 1813– January 22, 1892	March 23, 1870– January 22, 1892	(none)	(none)	Grant	death
42	Ward Hunt	NY	June 14, 1810– March 24, 1886	January 9, 1873– January 27, 1882	(none)	(none)	Grant	retirement
43	Morrison Waite	OH	November 29, 1816– March 23, 1888	March 4, 1874– March 23, 1888	March 4, 1874– March 23, 1888	(none)	Grant	death
44	John Marshall Harlan	KY	June 1, 1833– October 14, 1911	December 10, 1877– October 14, 1911	(none)	(none)	Hayes	death
45	William Burnham Woods	GA	August 3, 1824– May 14, 1887	January 5, 1881– May 14, 1887	(none)	(none)	Hayes	death
46	Thomas Stanley Matthews	OH	July 21, 1824– March 22, 1889	May 17, 1881– March 22, 1889	(none)	(none)	Garfield	death
47	Horace Gray	MA	March 24, 1828– September 15, 1902	January 9, 1882– September 15, 1902	(none)	(none)	Arthur	death
48	Samuel Blatchford	NY	March 9, 1820– July 7, 1893	April 3, 1882– July 7, 1893	(none)	(none)	Arthur	death
49	Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar	MS	September 17, 1825– January 23, 1893	January 18, 1888– January 23, 1893	(none)	(none)	Cleveland	death
50	Melville Fuller	IL	February 11, 1833– July 4, 1910	October 8, 1888– July 4, 1910	October 8, 1888– July 4, 1910	(none)	Cleveland	death
51	David Josiah Brewer	KS	June 20, 1837– March 28, 1910	January 6, 1890– March 28, 1910	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison	death
52	Henry Billings Brown	MI	March 2, 1836– September 4, 1913	January 5, 1891– May 28, 1906	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison	retirement
53	George Shiras, Jr.	PA	January 26, 1832– August 2, 1924	October 10, 1892– February 23, 1903	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison	retirement
54	Howell Edmunds Jackson	TN	April 8, 1832– August 8, 1895	March 4, 1893– August 8, 1895	(none)	(none)	B. Harrison	death
55	Edward Douglass White	LA	November 3, 1845– May 19, 1921	March 12, 1894– May 19, 1921	December 19, 1910– May 19, 1921	(none)	Cleveland (associate) Taft (chief)[1]	death
56	Rufus Wheeler Peckham	NY	November 8, 1838– October 24, 1909	January 6, 1896– October 24, 1909	(none)	(none)	Cleveland	death
57	Joseph McKenna	CA	August 10, 1843– November 21, 1926	January 26, 1898– January 5, 1925	(none)[2]	(none)	McKinley	retirement
58	Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. *	MA	March 8, 1841– March 6, 1935	December 8, 1902– January 12, 1932	(none)[3]	(none)	T. Roosevelt	retirement
59	William R. Day	OH	April 7, 1849– July 9, 1923	March 2, 1903– November 13, 1922	(none)	(none)	T. Roosevelt	retirement
60	William Henry Moody	MA	December 23, 1853– July 2, 1917	December 17, 1906– November 20, 1910	(none)	(none)	T. Roosevelt	retirement[4]
61	Horace Harmon Lurton	TN	February 26, 1844– July 12, 1914	January 3, 1910– July 12, 1914	(none)	(none)	Taft	death
62	Charles Evans Hughes	NY	April 11, 1862– August 27, 1948	October 10, 1910– June 10, 1916	(none)	(none)	Taft	resignation
63	Willis Van Devanter	WY	April 17, 1859– February 8, 1941	January 3, 1911– June 2, 1937	(none)	June 2, 1937– February 8, 1941	Taft	death
64	Joseph Rucker Lamar	GA	October 14, 1857– January 2, 1916	January 3, 1911– January 2, 1916	(none)	(none)	Taft	death
65	Mahlon Pitney	NJ	February 5, 1858– December 9, 1924	March 18, 1912– December 31, 1922	(none)	(none)	Taft	resignation
66	James Clark McReynolds	TN	February 3, 1862– August 24, 1946	October 12, 1914– January 31, 1941	(none)	January 31, 1941– August 24, 1946	Wilson	death[5]
67	Louis Brandeis	MA	November 13, 1856– October 5, 1941	June 5, 1916– February 13, 1939	(none)	February 13, 1939– October 5, 1941	Wilson	death[5]
68	John Hessin Clarke	OH	September 18, 1857– March 22, 1945	October 9, 1916– September 18, 1922	(none)	(none)	Wilson	resignation
69	William Howard Taft	CT	September 15, 1857– March 8, 1930	July 11, 1921– February 3, 1930	July 11, 1921– February 3, 1930	(none)	Harding	resignation[6]
70	George Sutherland	UT	March 25, 1862– July 18, 1942	October 2, 1922– January 17, 1938	(none)	January 17, 1938– July 18, 1942	Harding	death[5]
71	Pierce Butler	MN	March 17, 1866– November 16, 1939	January 2, 1923– November 16, 1939	(none)	(none)	Harding	death
72	Edward Terry Sanford	TN	July 23, 1865– March 8, 1930	February 19, 1923– March 8, 1930	(none)	(none)	Harding	death
73	Harlan Fiske Stone	NY	October 11, 1872– April 22, 1946	March 2, 1925– April 22, 1946	July 3, 1941– April 22, 1946[7]	(none)	Coolidge (associate) F. Roosevelt (chief)[1]	death
62	Charles Evans Hughes	NY	April 11, 1862– August 27, 1948	February 24, 1930– June 30, 1941	February 24, 1930– June 30, 1941	(none)	Hoover	retirement
74	Owen Josephus Roberts	PA	May 2, 1875– May 17, 1955	June 2, 1930– July 31, 1945	(none)	(none)	Hoover	resignation
75	Benjamin N. Cardozo	NY	May 24, 1870– July 9, 1938	March 14, 1932– July 9, 1938	(none)	(none)	Hoover	death
76	Hugo Black	AL	February 27, 1886– September 25, 1971	August 19, 1937– September 17, 1971	(none)[8][9]	September 17, 1971– September 25, 1971	F. Roosevelt	death[5]
77	Stanley Forman Reed	KY	December 31, 1884– April 2, 1980	January 31, 1938– February 25, 1957	(none)	February 25, 1957– April 2, 1980	F. Roosevelt	death[5]
78	Felix Frankfurter	MA	November 15, 1882– February 22, 1965	January 30, 1939– August 28, 1962	(none)	August 28, 1962– February 22, 1965	F. Roosevelt	death[5]
79	William O. Douglas	CT	October 16, 1898– January 19, 1980	April 17, 1939– November 12, 1975	(none)	November 12, 1975– January 19, 1980	F. Roosevelt	death[5]
80	Frank Murphy	MI	April 13, 1890– July 19, 1949	February 5, 1940– July 19, 1949	(none)	(none)	F. Roosevelt	death
81	James F. Byrnes	SC	May 2, 1879– April 9, 1972	July 8, 1941– October 3, 1942	(none)	(none)	F. Roosevelt	resignation
82	Robert H. Jackson	NY	February 13, 1892– October 9, 1954	July 11, 1941– October 9, 1954	(none)	(none)	F. Roosevelt	death
83	Wiley Blount Rutledge	IA	July 20, 1894– September 10, 1949	February 15, 1943– September 10, 1949	(none)	(none)	F. Roosevelt	death
84	Harold Hitz Burton	OH	June 22, 1888– October 28, 1964	October 1, 1945– October 13, 1958	(none)	October 13, 1958– October 28, 1964	Truman	death[5]
85	Fred M. Vinson	KY	January 22, 1890– September 8, 1953	June 24, 1946– September 8, 1953	June 24, 1946– September 8, 1953	(none)	Truman	death
86	Tom C. Clark	TX	September 23, 1899– June 13, 1977	August 24, 1949– June 12, 1967	(none)	June 12, 1967– June 13, 1977	Truman	death[5]
87	Sherman Minton	IN	October 20, 1890– April 9, 1965	October 12, 1949– October 15, 1956	(none)	October 15, 1956– April 9, 1965	Truman	death[5]
88	Earl Warren *	CA	March 19, 1891– July 9, 1974	October 5, 1953– June 23, 1969	October 5, 1953– June 23, 1969	June 23, 1969– July 9, 1974	Eisenhower	death[5]
89	John Marshall Harlan II	NY	May 20, 1899– December 29, 1971	March 28, 1955– September 23, 1971	(none)	September 23, 1971– December 29, 1971	Eisenhower	death[5]
90	William J. Brennan *	NJ	April 25, 1906– July 24, 1997	October 16, 1956– July 20, 1990	(none)	July 20, 1990– July 24, 1997	Eisenhower	death[5]
91	Charles Evans Whittaker	MO	February 22, 1901– November 26, 1973	March 25, 1957– March 31, 1962	(none)	March 31, 1962– September 30, 1965	Eisenhower	resignation
92	Potter Stewart *	OH	January 23, 1915– December 7, 1985	October 14, 1958– July 3, 1981	(none)	July 3, 1981– December 7, 1985	Eisenhower	retirement[10]
93	Byron White	CO	June 8, 1917– April 15, 2002	April 16, 1962– June 28, 1993	(none)	June 28, 1993– April 15, 2002	Kennedy	death[5]
94	Arthur Goldberg	IL	August 8, 1908– January 19, 1990	October 1, 1962– July 25, 1965	(none)	(none)	Kennedy	resignation
95	Abe Fortas	TN	June 19, 1910– April 5, 1982	October 4, 1965– May 14, 1969	(none)	(none)	L. Johnson	resignation
96	Thurgood Marshall	NY	July 2, 1908– January 24, 1993	October 2, 1967– October 1, 1991	(none)	October 1, 1991– January 24, 1993	L. Johnson	death[5]
97	Warren E. Burger	VA	September 17, 1907– June 25, 1995	June 23, 1969– September 26, 1986	June 23, 1969– September 26, 1986	September 26, 1986– June 25, 1995	Nixon	death[5]
98	Harry Blackmun	MN	November 12, 1908– March 4, 1999	June 9, 1970– August 3, 1994	(none)	August 3, 1994– March 4, 1999	Nixon	death[5]
99	Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.	VA	September 19, 1907– August 25, 1998	January 7, 1972– June 26, 1987	(none)	June 26, 1987– August 25, 1998	Nixon	death[5]
100	William Rehnquist	AZ	October 1, 1924– September 3, 2005	January 7, 1972– September 3, 2005	September 26, 1986– September 3, 2005	(none)	Nixon (associate) Reagan (chief)[1]	death
101	John Paul Stevens	IL	April 20, 1920– present	December 19, 1975– present	—[11]	—	Ford	—
102	Sandra Day O'Connor	AZ	March 26, 1930– present	September 25, 1981– January 31, 2006	(none)	January 31, 2006– present	Reagan	—
103	Antonin Scalia	VA	March 11, 1936– present	September 26, 1986– present	—	—	Reagan	—
104	Anthony Kennedy	CA	July 23, 1936– present	February 18, 1988– present	—	—	Reagan	—
105	David Souter	NH	September 17, 1939– present	October 9, 1990– present	—	—	G. H. W. Bush	—
106	Clarence Thomas	GA	June 23, 1948– present	October 23, 1991– present	—	—	G. H. W. Bush	—
107	Ruth Bader Ginsburg	NY	March 15, 1933– present	August 10, 1993– present	—	—	Clinton	—
108	Stephen Breyer	MA	August 15, 1938– present	August 3, 1994– present	—	—	Clinton	—
109	John Roberts	MD	January 27, 1955– present	September 29, 2005– present	September 29, 2005– present	—	G. W. Bush	—
110	Samuel Alito	NJ	April 1, 1950– present	January 31, 2006– present	—	—	G. W. Bush	—

Notes

1. This individual was elevated from Associate Justice to Chief Justice. Unlike the inferior courts, the Chief Justice is separately nominated and subject to a separate confirmation process, regardless of whether or not (s)he is already an Associate Justice.
2. Under 36 Stat. 1152, McKenna was Acting Chief Justice from White's death on May 19, 1921 until Taft took office on July 11, 1921.
3. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Holmes was Acting Chief Justice from Taft's departure on February 3, 1930 until Hughes took office on February 24, 1930.
4. There is some disagreement on how Moody exited office. According to the Federal Judicial Center, Moody resigned. According to the Supreme Court Historical Society, Moody retired. It turns out that the confusion comes from the fact that Moody was allowed to retire by special act of Congress in 1910 due to prolonged ill health. (Moody did not meet the minimum age and service requirements to retire without this waiver.)
5. Deaths in senior status seem to cause confusion. There are two types of retirement: in the first type, the justice resigns his appointment in return for a pension, and the "Reason Appointment Terminated" is marked as "retirement". In the second type of retirement, called senior status, the justice's appointment does not end. Instead, the justice accepts a reduced workload on an inferior court. For instance, Stanley F. Reed was frequently assigned to the Court of Claims when he was in senior status. As of 2006, every justice except Charles Evans Whittaker who has assumed senior status has died in it; in that case, the judge will have the "Reason Appointment Terminated" as "death", even though they retired from the court before they died.
6. There is some disagreement on how William Howard Taft exited office. According to some sources, such as the Supreme Court Historical Society, Taft retired. According to others, such as the Federal Judicial Center, Taft resigned.
7. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Stone was Acting Chief Justice from Hughes's retirement on June 30, 1941 until Stone took the oath of office as Chief Justice three days later.
8. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Black was Acting Chief Justice from Stone's death on April 22, 1946 until Vinson took office on June 24, 1946.
9. Under 62 Stat. 869, Black was Acting Chief Justice from Vinson's death on September 8, 1953 until Warren took office on October 5, 1953. The Supreme Court was not in session during this brief period.
10. Cite error: The named reference senior_retirement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. Under 28 U.S.C. § 3, Stevens was Acting Chief Justice from Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005 until Roberts took office on September 29, 2005. The Supreme Court was not in session during this brief period.

References

• "Judges of the United States Courts". Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved November 21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • source for term of senior service, reason service terminated, and seat information
• "Members of the Supreme Court from the Supreme Court of the United States" (PDF). Official website of the Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved May 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • source for state, appointer, and term of active service
• "Title 28, Section 3. Vacancy in office of Chief Justice; disability". United States Code. Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. 2005-09-29. Retrieved May 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  • source for laws about the Acting Chief Justice

External links

• Decisions and biography by Justice
• Thorough Supreme Court site by Northwestern University
• Biographies of Supreme Court Justices at michaelariens.com
• The Supreme Court Historical Society