The Resume

(October 16, 1898-January 19, 1980)
Graduated from Whitman College (1920)
Graduated from Columbia University (1925)
Law professor at Yale (1929-1934)
Member, then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1934-1939)
Grew up in Yakima, Washington
Afflicted with polio but hiked in the mountains to overcome it
Nominated to the Supreme Court by Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939)
Retired from office after a stroke (1975)
Replaced by John Paul Stevens
Longest-serving judge on the Supreme Court (36 years, 7 months)

Why he might be annoying:

One of his nicknames was 'Wild Bill.'
Sometimes, he scribbled his Supreme Court opinions on scraps of paper while drinking and flirting with women.
He married four times, the fourth time to a woman 45 years younger than him.
He was almost obsessive about becoming president.
However, he missed being picked as vice-presidential candidate in 1944, which would have made him president upon Roosevelt's death in 1945.
He delayed the execution of convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Why he might not be annoying:

He supported the New Deal.
He was very straightforward and to the point when discussing the main issue of a case.
He opposed all forms of censorship (even during World War II, where divulging information could get soldiers killed).
He was not afraid to question authority and was a strong supporter of individual rights.
He overcame polio.
He was a naturalist and spent a lot of time outdoors.

Credit: Wang

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Burger's Court
• Hamilton College's Most Admired Men [1977] (Ranked: 10)
• I Attended Columbia
• I Died in 1980 (Ranked: 81)
• I Had a Stroke [Cerebral Vascular Accident]
• I Have Polio
• I Married for Less than Two Years
• Judges
• My Spouse is at Least Ten Years Younger than Me
• Person to Person - Guests [A-K]
• Playboy's 55 Most Important People in Sex [2008] (Ranked: 33)
• Profiles 9751-10000 (Ranked: 9947)
• U.S. News Most Liberal Supreme Court Justices [1937-2006] (Ranked: 2)
• Wang's Profiles [Series 2]

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 10 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 18 Votes: 38.89% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 30 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 76 Votes: 51.32% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 32 Votes: 65.62% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 70 Votes: 55.71% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 53 Votes: 35.85% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 77 Votes: 55.84% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 146 Votes: 41.10% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 456 Votes: 42.76% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 356 Votes: 42.42% Annoying
In 2003, Out of 70 Votes: 58.57% Annoying