Supreme Court Row

Arlington National Cemetery was established in 1864. Located on the Potomac River just outside Washington, DC, it is the final resting place for more than 400,000 service members, politicians and other national figures. 

Included in this tally are 14 members of the U.S. Supreme Court. Many are scattered throughout the park, although a handful can be found in what this blogger calls "Supreme Court Row."

You'll find it just inside the main gate and up a winding road situated on a small hill.  On a recent visit to the park, I found graves for four of the so-called "men in black."

Warren Earl Burger was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 17, 1907.

In 1969, he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Richard M. Nixon, where he served as Chief Justice until his retirement in 1986.  He was succeeded in this position by Judge William Rehnquist.

Burger died of congestive heart failure on June 25, 1995.

Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1933.

In 1993, she was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton, where she served as Associate Justice until her death on September 18, 2020.  She was succeeded in this position by Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Ginsburg was laid to rest with her husband Martin, who preceded her in death in 2010.  Like his wife, he was also a lawyer, having taught at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Thurgood Marshall (birth name Thoroughgood) was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 2, 1908.

In 1967, he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson, where he served as Associate Justice until his retirement in 1991. He was succeeded in this position by Judge Clarence Thomas.

Marshall died of heart failure on January 24, 1993.

John Paul Stevens was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 20, 1920.

In 1975, he was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Gerald Ford, where he served until his retirement in 2010.  He was succeeded in this position by Elena Kagan.

Stevens died from complications of a stroke on July 16, 2019.

Rest in peace.