List of United States Chief Justices by time in office: Information from Answers.com

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This is a list of U.S. Chief Justices 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.

Rank by length of term	Chief Justice	Length in days	Term of office	Order by date
1	John Marshall	12,570	February 4, 1801–July 6, 1835	4
2	Roger B. Taney	10,425	March 28, 1836–October 12, 1864	5
3	Melville Fuller	7,938	October 8, 1888–July 4, 1910	8
4	William Rehnquist	6,917	September 26, 1986–September 3, 2005	16
5	Warren E. Burger	6,304	June 23, 1969–September 26, 1986	15
6	Earl Warren	5,740	October 5, 1953–June 23, 1969	14
7	Morrison Waite	5,133	March 4, 1874–March 23, 1888	7
8	Charles Evans Hughes	4,144	February 24, 1930–June 30, 1941	11
9	Edward Douglass White	3,804	December 19, 1910–May 19, 1921	9
10	William Howard Taft	3,129	July 11, 1921–February 3, 1930	10
11	Salmon P. Chase	3,065	December 15, 1864–May 7, 1873	6
12	Fred M. Vinson	2,633	June 24, 1946–September 8, 1953	13
13	John Jay	2,079	October 19, 1789–June 29, 1795	1
14	Harlan Fiske Stone	1,754	July 3, 1941–April 22, 1946	12
15	Oliver Ellsworth	1,742	March 8, 1796–December 15, 1800	3
16	John Roberts	1,412	September 29, 2005 – present	17
17	John Rutledge	168	July 1, 1795–December 15, 1795	2
(18)	William Cushing§	(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:

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.
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.
To surpass William O. Douglas 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.

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List of United States Chief Justices by time in office

Milestone illustrations

See also