U.S. Supreme Court justice Samuel Freeman Miller, who served from 1862 to 1890, was also a practicing medical doctor. He received his medical degree from Transylvania University. Brady-Handy Photograph Collection/Library of Congress.

      Which U.S. Supreme Court justices formerly served as U.S. solicitor general?

      Five Supreme Court justices formerly served as solicitor generals at some point in their careers before ascending to the U.S. Supreme Court. They include William Howard Taft (1890–92), Charles Evans Hughes (1929–30), Stanley Reed (1935–38), Robert H. Jackson (1938–40), and Thurgood Marshall (1965–67).

      What former justice was a practicing medical doctor?

      Samuel Freeman Miller, who served on the Court from 1862 to 1890, graduated from Transylvania University in 1838 with a degree in medicine. He practiced medicine for 12 years in Knox County, Kentucky, before going into the practice of law. Justice Noah Haynes Swayne also studied medicine in his youth before turning to the study of law. Justice Hugo Black attended Birmingham Medical School for one year.

      Which chief justices were associate justices before their elevation to the top post?

      There have been five associate justices who later ascended to the post of chief justice. They are John Rutledge, Edward White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and William Rehnquist. Rutledge served as associate justice from February 15, 1790 (the first date the Court ever met), to March 5, 1791, when he resigned to serve as chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas. President George Washington then appointed Rutledge to the position of chief justice in August 1795. Washington made a recess appointment, meaning an appointment is made when the Senate is not in session. The nominee can take his or her seat but must be confirmed to remain on the bench. Rutledge served for only a few months as chief justice because the Senate rejected his nomination 15–10 in December 1795. White served as an associate justice from 1894 to 1910. President William Howard Taft nominated him for chief justice in 1910 and he served in that capacity until his death in 1921. Hughes served as an associate justice from 1910 to 1916. He resigned to run for president but lost to Woodrow Wilson. President Herbert Hoover then nominated Hughes for chief justice, a position he served from 1930 to 1941. Stone served as associate justice from 1925 until 1941. Then, President Franklin D. Roosevelt elevated Stone to chief justice in 1941, where he served until his death in 1946. Rehnquist served as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986, when President Ronald Reagan nominated him to serve as the nation’s sixteenth chief justice, a post in which he remained until his death in 2005.

      Which U.S. Supreme Court justices were former Supreme Court clerks?

      Byron White clerked for Chief Justice Fred Vinson in 1946–47. William Rehnquist clerked for Justice Robert Jackson in 1951–52. John Paul Stevens clerked for Justice Wiley Rutledge in 1947–48. Stephen Breyer clerked for Justice Arthur Goldberg in 1964–65. John Roberts clerked for Rehnquist in 1980–81.

      Which two U.S. Supreme Court justices never held a position of public office or official governmental position until their Supreme Court nominations?

      Justice Joseph Bradley and his replacement on the Supreme Court, Justice George Shiras Jr., never held positions of public office until they were nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court—Bradley in 1870 and Shiras in 1892. Bradley ran for Congress in 1862 but lost. In 1881, Shiras declined the nomination of the Pennsylvania state legislature to be senator. He had a very successful private law practice in Pittsburgh for more than thirty years.

      Who is the only justice to have served both as a federal district court and a federal appeals court judge before his elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court?

      Charles Evans Whittaker served as a federal district court judge in Missouri from 1954 to 1956 and as a federal appeals court judge (Eighth Circuit) from 1956 to 1957.

      FAMILY AFFAIRS

      Which justice had the most marriages?

      Justice William O. Douglas, who served on the Court for more than thirty-six years, was married four times. His first three marriages—to Mildred Riddle, Mercedes Hester Davison, and Joan Martin—ended in divorce. He then married Cathleen Ann Heffernan in 1966; they were married until his death in 1980.

      Which Supreme Court justice had the most siblings?

      John Marshall, the Court’s fourth chief justice, was the oldest of fifteen children of Thomas and Mary Randolph Marshall. Marshall and his wife Polly continued the trend of a large family, as they had ten children.

      Which Supreme Court justice married a sixteen-year-old?

      Oliver Ellsworth, the nation’s third chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and the chief architect of the Judiciary Act of 1789, married sixteen-year-old Abigail Wolcott in 1771.

      Which two justices married cousins?

      Chief Justice Morrison Waite married his second cousin Amelia C. Warner, while Justice Henry Baldwin married his third cousin Marianna Norton.

      Which justice married a childhood friend?

      Harlan Fiske Stone married a childhood playmate, Agnes Harvey, in 1899 after a nine-year engagement.

      Which justice was tutored by Horatio Alger?

      As a child, Justice Benjamin Cardozo was tutored by author Horatio Alger.

      Which justice later became a brother-in-law to the author of the “Star-Spangled Banner”?

      Chief Justice Roger Taney was