Sept. 3, 2005: William Rehnquist dies at his home in Arlington, Va.

Friday 3 September 2010

William Rehnquist, former chief justice of the Supreme Court, died Sept. 3, 2005, after a battle with thyroid cancer. President Nixon nominated Rehnquist to the Supreme Court in 1971 to replace John Marshall Harlan II upon his retirement. The Senate confirmed the nomination, and Rehnquist took his seat as associate justice in January 1972. He served as associate justice until 1986 when he was nominated by President Reagan to fill the position of chief justice upon the retirement of Warren Burger.

Rehnquist became the second chief justice to preside over a presidential impeachment during the 1999 trial of President Clinton. In 2000, he wrote the opinion in the case of Bush v. Gore , ending the Florida presidential election controversy.