List of United States Chief Justices by time in office

List of United States Chief Justices By Time in Office

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List of United States Chief Justices by time in office

This is a list of U.S. Chief Justices
Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
by time in office. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater.

§ Historians disagree as to whether William Cushing resigned (and, therefore, held the position) or declined the commission (and never held the position at all)

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 the current Chief Justice to reach them:

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Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
List of U.S.

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Rank by length of term	Chief Justice	Length in days	Term of office	Order by date
1	John Marshall John Marshall John Marshall was an American statesman and jurist who shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. Marshall was Chief Justice of the United States, serving from February 4, 1801, until his death in 1835....	12,570	February 4, 1801–July 6, 1835	4
2	Roger B. Taney Roger B. Taney Roger Brooke Taney was the twelfth United States Attorney General. He also was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864, and was the first Roman Catholic to hold that office....	10,425	March 28, 1836–October 12, 1864	5
3	Melville Fuller Melville Fuller Melville Weston Fuller was the Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910....	7,938	October 8, 1888–July 4, 1910	8
4	William Rehnquist William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist was an Law of the United States, United States federal courts, and a Politics of the United States who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States....	6,917	September 26, 1986–September 3, 2005	16
5	Warren E. Burger Warren E. Burger Warren Earl Burger was Chief Justice of the United States of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger was a conservative and considered a strict constructionist, under his tenure, the United States Supreme Court delivered a variety of transformative decisions on abortion, capital punishment in the United States, Establishment cla...	6,304	June 23, 1969–September 26, 1986	15
6	Earl Warren Earl Warren Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States and the only person ever elected three times as Governor of California. Prior to holding these positions, Warren served as a district attorney for Alameda County, California and California Attorney General....	5,740	October 5, 1953–June 23, 1969	14
7	Morrison Waite Morrison Waite Morrison Remick Waite, nicknamed "Mott" was the Chief Justice of the United States from 1874 to 1888....	5,133	March 4, 1874–March 23, 1888	7
8	Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. was a lawyer and United States Republican Party politician from the State of New York. He served as Governor of New York , United States Secretary of State , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States ....	4,144	February 24, 1930–June 30, 1941	11
9	Edward Douglass White Edward Douglass White Edward Douglass White, Jr. , United States politician and jurist, was a United States Senate, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States....	3,804	December 19, 1910–May 19, 1921	9
10	William Howard Taft William Howard Taft William Howard Taft was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, a leader of the progressive conservative wing of the History of the United States Republican Party in the early 20th century, a pioneer in international arbitration and staunch advocate of world pe...	3,129	July 11, 1921–February 3, 1930	10
11	Salmon P. Chase Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase was an United States politician and jurist in the American Civil War era who served as United States Senator from Ohio and List of Governors of Ohio of Ohio; as United States Secretary of the Treasury under President of the United States Abraham Lincoln; and as Chief Justice of the United States....	3,065	December 15, 1864–May 7, 1873	6
12	Fred M. Vinson Fred M. Vinson Frederick Moore Vinson served the United States in all three branches of government. In the legislative branch, he was an elected member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisa, Kentucky, for twelve years....	2,633	June 24, 1946–September 8, 1953	13
13	John Jay John Jay John Jay was an United States politician, statesman, Patriot , diplomat, a Founding Fathers of the United States, President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779 and, from 1789 to 1795, the first Chief Justice of the United States....	2,079	October 19, 1789–June 29, 1795	1
14	Harlan Fiske Stone Harlan Fiske Stone Harlan Fiske Stone was an United States lawyer and judge. A native of New Hampshire he served as the dean of Columbia Law School, his alma mater in the early 20th century....	1,754	July 3, 1941–April 22, 1946	12
15	Oliver Ellsworth Oliver Ellsworth Oliver Ellsworth , an United States lawyer and politician, was a revolutionary against Kingdom of Great Britain rule, a drafter of the United States Constitution, and third Chief Justice of the United States....	1,742	March 8, 1796–December 15, 1800	3
16	John Roberts John Roberts John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, Roberts generally votes with the Judicial philosophy#Judicial Conservative wing of the Supreme Court of the United States....		September 29, 2005 – present	17
17	John Rutledge John Rutledge John Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence....	168	July 1, 1795–December 15, 1795	2
(18)	William Cushing William Cushing William Cushing was an early associate justice of the United States United States Supreme Court, from its inception to his death. He was the longest-serving of the Court's original members, sitting on the bench for 21 years.... §	(2)	February 3, 1796–February 5, 1796	(3)

§ Historians disagree as to whether William Cushing resigned (and, therefore, held the position) or declined the commission (and never held the position at all)

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 the current Chief Justice to reach them:

In order to surpass the tenure of his immediate predecessor William Rehnquist, John Roberts will have to serve as Chief Justice until Saturday, September 7, 2024. Roberts will be 69 years old on that date.
In order to surpass John Marshall as the longest-serving Chief Justice in history, John Roberts will have to serve as Chief Justice until Wednesday, March 1, 2040. Roberts will be 85 years old on that date.
In order to surpass William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas

William Orville Douglas was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court....
as the longest serving Supreme Court Justice in history, John Roberts will have to serve on the Supreme Court until Saturday, April 26, 2042. Roberts will be 87 years old on that date.

List of United States Chief Justices by time in office

Milestone illustrations

See also