JOHN PAUL STEVENS was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 20, 1920. He was graduated from the University of Chicago in 1941 and from Northwestern University School of Law in 1947, after having served in the United States Navy during World War II. He served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Wiley B. Rutledge of the United States Supreme Court for the 1947-1948 Term. He practiced law in Chicago from 1949 to 1970, except for 1951, when he served as Associate Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Study of Monopoly Power. In the early 1950s, Stevens taught on the law faculty at Northwestern and Chicago Universities. From 1953 to 1955, Stevens was a member of the Attorney General’s National Committee to Study the Antitrust Laws. In 1969, he served as general counsel to a special commission appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to investigate the integrity of one of its judgments. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Stevens to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. President Gerald R. Ford nominated Stevens to the Supreme Court of the United States on November 28, 1975. The Senate confirmed the appointment on December 17, 1975. He retired after thirty-four years of service on June 29, 2010. Justice Stevens died July 16, 2019 at the age of ninety-nine.
Members support the Society’s efforts to increase awareness of the Court’s contributions to our nation’s constitutional heritage. Benefits include: Court history publications, special event invitations, discounts.
SCHS sponsored events cover Supreme Court history themes, from early landmark figures and cases such as McCullough, to civics, labor, women’s rights, immigration, Constitutional controversies.
Documentaries covering landmark points on the timeline of Supreme Court history, including: FDR’s court packing controversy, the contested 1876 election + John Marshall & Marbury v. Madison.
Visit the Supreme Court Historical Society’s CIVICS website to learn about the history and cases of the Supreme Court of the United States and gain insights into key figures associated with the Court.
A timeline of Supreme Court history, including the Marshall and Warren Courts + landmark cases: West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, and significant rulings in women’s rights court cases.