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U.S. Supreme Court justices

in

Supreme Court of the United States

Written by
Brian P. Smentkowski
Associate Professor of Political Science, Queens University of Charlotte. Coauthor of Misreading the Bill of Rights.
Brian P. Smentkowski
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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β€’History

The table provides a list of U.S. Supreme Court justices.

U.S. Supreme Court justices
name
(chief justices in italics)		term of service*appointed by president
*The date the justice took the judicial oath is here used as the beginning date of service, for until that oath is taken the justice is not vested with the prerogatives of the office. Justices, however, receive their commissions ("letters patent")before taking their oathsβ€”in some instances, in the preceding year.
**John Rutledge was acting chief justice; the U.S. Senate refused to confirm him.
John Jay 1789–95 Washington
James Wilson 1789–98 Washington
John Rutledge 1790–91 Washington
William Cushing 1790–1810 Washington
John Blair 1790–96 Washington
James Iredell 1790–99 Washington
Thomas Johnson 1792–93 Washington
William Paterson 1793–1806 Washington
John Rutledge ** 1795 Washington
Samuel Chase 1796–1811 Washington
Oliver Ellsworth 1796–1800 Washington
Bushrod Washington 1799–1829 J. Adams
Alfred Moore 1800–04 J. Adams
John Marshall 1801–35 J. Adams
William Johnson 1804–34 Jefferson
Henry Brockholst Livingston 1807–23 Jefferson
Thomas Todd 1807–26 Jefferson
Gabriel Duvall 1811–35 Madison
Joseph Story 1812–45 Madison
Smith Thompson 1823–43 Monroe
Robert Trimble 1826–28 J.Q. Adams
John McLean 1830–61 Jackson
Henry Baldwin 1830–44 Jackson
James M. Wayne 1835–67 Jackson
Roger Brooke Taney 1836–64 Jackson
Philip P. Barbour 1836–41 Jackson
John Catron 1837–65 Van Buren
John McKinley 1838–52 Van Buren
Peter V. Daniel 1842–60 Van Buren
Samuel Nelson 1845–72 Tyler
Levi Woodbury 1845–51 Polk
Robert C. Grier 1846–70 Polk
Benjamin R. Curtis 1851–57 Fillmore
John Archibald Campbell 1853–61 Pierce
Nathan Clifford 1858–81 Buchanan
Noah H. Swayne 1862–81 Lincoln
Samuel Freeman Miller 1862–90 Lincoln
David Davis 1862–77 Lincoln
Stephen Johnson Field 1863–97 Lincoln
Salmon P. Chase 1864–73 Lincoln
William Strong 1870–80 Grant
Joseph P. Bradley 1870–92 Grant
Ward Hunt 1873–82 Grant
Morrison Remick Waite 1874–88 Grant
John Marshall Harlan 1877–1911 Hayes
William B. Woods 1881–87 Hayes
Stanley Matthews 1881–89 Garfield
Horace Gray 1882–1902 Arthur
Samuel Blatchford 1882–93 Arthur
Lucius Q.C. Lamar 1888–93 Cleveland
Melville Weston Fuller 1888–1910 Cleveland
David J. Brewer 1890–1910 B. Harrison
Henry B. Brown 1891–1906 B. Harrison
George Shiras, Jr. 1892–1903 B. Harrison
Howell E. Jackson 1893–95 B. Harrison
Edward Douglass White 1894–1910 Cleveland
Rufus Wheeler Peckham 1896–1909 Cleveland
Joseph McKenna 1898–1925 McKinley
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1902–32 T. Roosevelt
William R. Day 1903–22 T. Roosevelt
William H. Moody 1906–10 T. Roosevelt
Horace H. Lurton 1910–14 Taft
Charles Evans Hughes 1910–16 Taft
Willis Van Devanter 1911–37 Taft
Joseph R. Lamar 1911–16 Taft
Edward Douglass White 1910–21 Taft
Mahlon Pitney 1912–22 Taft
James C. McReynolds 1914–41 Wilson
Louis Brandeis 1916–39 Wilson
John H. Clarke 1916–22 Wilson
William Howard Taft 1921–30 Harding
George Sutherland 1922–38 Harding
Pierce Butler 1923–39 Harding
Edward T. Sanford 1923–30 Harding
Harlan Fiske Stone 1925–41 Coolidge
Charles Evans Hughes 1930–41 Hoover
Owen Roberts 1930–45 Hoover
Benjamin Nathan Cardozo 1932–38 Hoover
Hugo L. Black 1937–71 F. Roosevelt
Stanley F. Reed 1938–57 F. Roosevelt
Felix Frankfurter 1939–62 F. Roosevelt
William O. Douglas 1939–75 F. Roosevelt
Frank Murphy 1940–49 F. Roosevelt
Harlan Fiske Stone 1941–46 F. Roosevelt
James F. Byrnes 1941–42 F. Roosevelt
Robert H. Jackson 1941–54 F. Roosevelt
Wiley B. Rutledge 1943–49 F. Roosevelt
Harold H. Burton 1945–58 Truman
Fred M. Vinson 1946–53 Truman
Tom C. Clark 1949–67 Truman
Sherman Minton 1949–56 Truman
Earl Warren 1953–69 Eisenhower
John Marshall Harlan 1955–71 Eisenhower
William J. Brennan, Jr. 1956–90 Eisenhower
Charles E. Whittaker 1957–62 Eisenhower
Potter Stewart 1958–81 Eisenhower
Byron R. White 1962–93 Kennedy
Arthur J. Goldberg 1962–65 Kennedy
Abe Fortas 1965–69 L. Johnson
Thurgood Marshall 1967–91 L. Johnson
Warren E. Burger 1969–86 Nixon
Harry A. Blackmun 1970–94 Nixon
Lewis F. Powell, Jr. 1972–87 Nixon
William H. Rehnquist 1972–86 Nixon
John Paul Stevens 1975–2010 Ford
Sandra Day O'Connor 1981–2006 Reagan
William H. Rehnquist 1986–2005 Reagan
Antonin Scalia 1986–2016 Reagan
Anthony Kennedy 1988–2018 Reagan
David H. Souter 1990–2009 G.H.W. Bush
Clarence Thomas 1991– G.H.W. Bush
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1993–2020 Clinton
Stephen G. Breyer 1994–2022 Clinton
John G. Roberts, Jr. 2005– G.W. Bush
Samuel A. Alito 2006– G.W. Bush
Sonia Sotomayor 2009– Obama
Elena Kagan 2010– Obama
Neil Gorsuch 2017– Trump
Brett Kavanaugh 2018– Trump
Amy Coney Barrett 2020– Trump
Ketanji Brown Jackson 2022– Biden