Here’s a look at the life of Antonin Scalia, who was an associate justice of the US Supreme Court.
Personal:
Birth date: March 11, 1936
Death date: February 13, 2016
Birth place: Trenton, New Jersey
Birth name: Antonin Gregory Scalia
Father: Salvatore Eugene Scalia, professor at Brooklyn College
Mother: Catherine Louise (Panaro) Scalia, public school teacher
Marriage: Maureen McCarthy (September 10, 1960-February 13, 2016, his death)
Children: Ann Forrest; Eugene; John Francis; Catherine Elisabeth; Mary Clare; Paul David; Matthew; Christopher James; Margaret Jane
Education: Attended University of Fribourg, Switzerland, joint degree with Georgetown University, 1955-1956; Georgetown University, A.B., Valedictorian, summa cum laude, 1957; Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1960; Harvard University, Sheldon Fellowship, 1960-1961
Religion: Roman Catholic
Other Facts:
First Italian-American justice to serve on the US Supreme Court.
He was considered a conservative.
Oversaw the Fifth Circuit.
Voted consistently in favor of free speech.
Nicknamed “Nino.”
Strong opponent of abortion and affirmative action and was a strong advocate of federalism and separation of powers.
With the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, he became the longest-serving justice on the court.
Timeline:
1961-1967 - Associate at Jones, Day, Cockley & Reavis in Cleveland, Ohio.
1962 - Is admitted to the Ohio Bar.
1970 - Is admitted to the Virginia Bar.
1967-1974 - Professor at University of Virginia School of Law.
1971-1972 - General Counsel, Office of Telecommunications Policy, Executive Office of President.
1972-1974 - Chairman, Administrative Conference of the United States, Washington.
1974-1977 - Assistant US Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel.
1977 - Visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; visiting professor at Georgetown Law Center.
1977-1982 - Law professor at the University of Chicago.
1980-1981 - Visiting professor at Stanford Law School.
August 17, 1982 - Scalia is sworn in as a member of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - nominated by US President Ronald Reagan.
September 26, 1986 - Is sworn in as Supreme Court associate justice, filling the seat left by William Rehnquist when he became Chief Justice.
January 2004 - Scalia takes a duck hunting trip in Louisiana with US Vice President Cheney, three weeks after the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case of Cheney v. US District Court for the District of Columbia.
April 7, 2004 - Tapes of a speech Scalia gave at a Mississippi high school, recorded by two journalists, are erased at the request of a United States deputy marshal, triggering outrage from journalism groups.
March 18, 2004 - Scalia issues a 21-page memo in which he explains his reasons for not recusing himself from the Cheney case.
March 27, 2006 - The Boston Herald reports that Scalia made “an obscene gesture, flicking his hand under his chin” in response to a question about whether lawyers might question his impartiality in matters of church and state. Scalia later writes a letter to the editor that the gesture was not obscene at all, but an attempt at being dismissive.
October 21, 2006 - States in a speech at the National Italian American Foundation that issues like abortion and suicide rights have nothing to do with the Constitution, and unelected judges too often choose to find new rights at the expense of the democratic process.
October 3, 2011 - The Supreme Court kicks off its new term with a brief salute to Scalia who is marking his 25th year on the high court.
February 13, 2016 - A government source and a family friend tells CNN that Scalia died in his sleep during a visit to Texas.
February 20, 2016 - Scalia’s son, Paul, performs his funeral Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. His burial location is not disclosed.
November 16, 2018 - US President Donald Trump posthumously awards Scalia the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor – along with six others, including Babe Ruth and Elvis Presley.