Fact Sheet: William Rehnquist
GENERAL BIOGRAPHY
- William Hubbs Rehnquist was born Oct. 1, 1924 in Milwaukee. He was 80 years old.
- Rehnquist has served on the Supreme Court for 32 years.
- He is the second-oldest Chief Justice in U.S. history. The oldest died at age 87.
- Rehnquist had defied retirement rumors and hired law clerks through 2006.
- His death marks the second opening on the Supreme Court this year. The other was created when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement.
- His father, William B. Rehnquist, was a paper salesman. His mother's name was Margery.
- Both parents were regarded as conservatives.
- Rehnquist was undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer when he died.
- The thyroid gland is located in the throat and can lead to several types of cancer. It's not clear which one Rehnquist had.
- He underwent a tracheotomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland on Oct. 23, 2004.
- In 2002, Rehnquist missed some court sessions after falling and hurting his knee.
- He's struggled with chronic back pain over the years.
- Rehnquist served in the United States Army Air Corps in the United States and overseas from 1943 to 1946. He was discharged with the rank of sergeant.
- Rehnquist graduated from Stanford University in 1948, thanks to help from the GI Bill. He earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in political science at Stanford.
- In 1949, Rehnquist earned a master's in government at Harvard.
- In 1952, he earned a law degree from Stanford. Justice O'Connor was a classmate.
- After law school, Rehnquist clerked with Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson.
- He practiced law in Arizona from 1953-1955.
- He went on to become a partner in three other firms, each of which included his name in their titles.
- President Richard M. Nixon appointed him Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel in January 1969.
- In 1972, Rehnquist was appointed to the Supreme Court by Nixon. He replaced retiring Justice Marshall Harlan.
- Rehnquist became chief justice in 1986. President Reagan nominated him to replace retiring Chief Justice Warren Burger.
- Rehnquist is a longtime Republican and is known as one of the three most conservative members of the Supreme Court.
- Rehnquist cast the deciding vote to stop the ballot recount in the 2000 election.
- In 1973, he voted against the decision to legalize abortion in Roe v. Wade.
- He's particularly known for supporting states' rights over the federal government.
- Rehnquist was a regular contributor of articles on legal subjects to various periodicals and the author of five books: Political Battles for Judicial Independence (1975); Sunshine in the Third Branch (1977); Constitutional Law and Public Opinion (1986); The Supreme Court: The Way It Was - the Way It Is (1987); Grand Inquests (1992).
- Rehnquist married his college sweetheart Natalie Cornell in 1953.
- They were married for some 38 years when she died in 1991.
- Rehnquist has three children: James, Janet and Nancy.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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