Dead Celebrity Alert

Washington Post — Sunday, September 4, 2005 —William Hubbs Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States, died last night at his home in Arlington. He was 80.

Rehnquist, who had been suffering from thyroid cancer since last October, had managed to lead the court through its last term, which ended in June. But he went through “a precipitous decline in his health in the last couple of days,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said.

Rehnquist’s death comes as the Senate is preparing for hearings on President Bush’s nomination of John G. Roberts Jr. to replace Sandra Day O’Connor as an associate justice. Those hearings are set to begin on Tuesday. O’Connor, 75, announced her retirement on July 1, effective upon the confirmation of a successor. …

A conservative stalwart appointed as associate Justice by President Richard M. Nixon in 1972, Rehnquist was elevated to chief justice in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. His 33-year tenure on the court was one of the longest and most influential in the institution’s history, as he spearheaded a rightward move at the court — first as a lone dissenter, then later as the leader of a five-justice conservative majority. … Read full obituary

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