List of Chief Justices of the United States by time in office
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This is a list of Chief Justices of the United States, known as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court until 1866. The list can be sorted by time in office or length of retirement. For incumbent Chief Justice John G. Roberts, the values below are calculated to January 31, 2012.
[edit] Chief Justices of the United States
| Rank by length of term |
Chief Justice | Nominated by |
Date of judicial oath |
Date of retirement |
Length of term |
Length of retirement |
Date of death | Order by date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Marshall | J. Adams | February 4, 1801 | July 6, 1835 | 12,570 days | N/A[1] | July 6, 1835 | 4 |
| 2 | Roger B. Taney | Jackson | March 28, 1836 | October 12, 1864 | 10,425 days | N/A[1] | October 12, 1864 | 5 |
| 3 | Melville Fuller | Cleveland | October 8, 1888 | July 4, 1910 | 7,938 days | N/A[1] | July 4, 1910 | 8 |
| 4 | William Rehnquist | Reagan | September 26, 1986 | September 3, 2005 | 6,917 days | N/A[1] | September 3, 2005 | 16 |
| 5 | Warren E. Burger | Nixon | June 23, 1969 | September 26, 1986 | 6,304 days | 3,194 days | June 25, 1995 | 15 |
| 6 | Earl Warren | Eisenhower | October 5, 1953 | June 23, 1969 | 5,740 days | 1,842 days | July 9, 1974 | 14 |
| 7 | Morrison Waite | Grant | March 4, 1874 | March 23, 1888 | 5,133 days | N/A[1] | March 23, 1888 | 7 |
| 8 | Charles E. Hughes | Hoover | February 24, 1930 | June 30, 1941 | 4,144 days | 2,615 days | August 27, 1948 | 11 |
| 9 | Edward D. White | Taft | December 19, 1910 | May 19, 1921 | 3,804 days | N/A[1] | May 19, 1921 | 9 |
| 10 | William H. Taft | Harding | July 11, 1921 | February 3, 1930 | 3,129 days | 33 days | March 8, 1930 | 10 |
| 11 | Salmon P. Chase | Lincoln | December 6, 1864 | May 7, 1873 | 3,074 days | N/A[1] | May 7, 1873 | 6 |
| 12 | Fred M. Vinson | Truman | June 24, 1946 | September 8, 1953 | 2,633 days | N/A[1] | September 8, 1953 | 13 |
| 13 | John G. Roberts | G.W. Bush | September 29, 2005 | Incumbent | 2,315 days | Incumbent | 17 | |
| 14 | John Jay | Washington | October 19, 1789 | June 29, 1795 | 2,079 days | 12,375 days | May 17, 1829 | 1 |
| 15 | Harlan F. Stone | F. Roosevelt | July 3, 1941 | April 22, 1946 | 1,754 days | N/A[1] | April 22, 1946 | 12 |
| 16 | Oliver Ellsworth | Washington | March 8, 1796 | December 15, 1800 | 1,742 days | 2,537 days | November 26, 1807 | 3 |
| 17 | John Rutledge | Washington | August 12, 1795 | December 15, 1795 | 125 days | 1,649 days | June 21, 1800 | 2 |
[edit] Milestone illustrations
The time frames involved in the length of service by previous holders of the office can be illustrated by comparing them to the length of time it would take for incumbent Chief Justice John G. Roberts to reach them:
- To surpass the tenure of his immediate predecessor, William Rehnquist, Roberts will have to serve as Chief Justice until Saturday, September 7, 2024. Roberts's age on that date will be 69 years, 224 days.
- To surpass John Marshall as the longest-serving Chief Justice in history, Roberts will have to serve as Chief Justice until Wednesday, February 29, 2040. Roberts's age on that date will be 85 years, 33 days.
- To surpass William O. Douglas as the longest serving Supreme Court Justice in history, Roberts will have to serve on the Supreme Court until Sunday, April 27, 2042. Roberts's age on that date will be 87 years, 90 days.
