19 Oct 1789: John Jay, first Chief Justice

On this day in 1789, John Jay took the oath of office to become the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He would serve until 1795.

The Chief Justice has just one responsibility enumerated in the Constitution: to oversee the trials of presidents who have been impeached.

The current chief justice, John Roberts, is the seventeenth. Other chief justices you should know:

• John Rutledge (#2): a recess appointment, his confirmation was rejected by the Senate six months later
• John Marshall (#4): a ‘midnight’ appointment by John Adams, Marshall served for 33 years, the longest of any chief justice. His decision in Marbury v. Madison established the court’s power of judicial review
• Roger B. Taney (#5): served nearly as long as Marshall; most noted for his majority decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Salmon P. Chase (#6): former Treasury Secretary, responsible for putting “In God We Trust” on coins. He was also on the $10,000 bill
• William Howard Taft (#10): the only former president to serve on the Supreme Court
• Earl Warren (#14): 3-term California governor who was Thomas Dewey’s VP pick in 1948; oversaw Brown v. Board and the commission that investigated JFK’s assassination
• Warren Burger (#15): served 1969-1986
• William Rehnquist (#16): graduated first in his class from Stanford Law in 1952; Sandra Day O’Connor, whom he allegedly briefly dated, placed third

Image: Gilbert Stuart (1794). National Gallery of Art.