Douglas, William Orville (1898-1980), served on the Supreme Court of the United States longer than any other justice. Douglas served as an associate justice from 1939 to 1975. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him to the court. Douglas gained renown not only because of his work as a member of the Supreme Court, but also because of his wide travels and his books dealing with problems in America’s national and international life.
On the Supreme Court, Douglas strongly supported government protection of civil liberties, civil rights, and the environment. His books include Of Men and Mountains (1950) and Strange Lands and Friendly People (1951). Douglas also wrote The Anatomy of Liberty (1963) and Points of Rebellion (1970).
Douglas was born on Oct. 16, 1898, in Maine, Minnesota, and graduated from Whitman College. He received his law degree from Columbia University and established a national reputation as a law teacher at Yale University. In 1936, he became a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He served as chairman of the commission from 1937 to 1939. He died on Jan. 19, 1980.
