The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his dues on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," said Arberg.
About William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 1, 1924. He married Natalie Cornell, now deceased, and had 3 children -- James, Janet and Nancy. From 1943 to 1946 he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He received a B.A., M.A., and LL. B. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Harvard University.
He served as a law clerk for Justice Robert H. Jackson of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1951 and 1952 terms, and practiced law in Phoenix, Arizona from 1953 to 1969. He served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 1969 to 1971. President Nixon nominated him to the Supreme Court, and he took his seat as an Associate Justice on January 7, 1972. Nominated as Chief Justice by President Reagan, he assumed that office on September 26, 1986.
During his career, Rehnquist was considered one of the more conservative members of a closely divided court. Rehnquist presided over President Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999, helped settle the 2000 presidential election in Bush's favor, and is only member still serving on the Supreme Court who voted on the landmark Roe v. Wade case in 1973 which legalized abortion.
At his death at the age of 80, after 33 years on the Court, Rehnquist was the longest serving Chief Justice since Melville Fuller, who died in office in 1910.
About Rehnquist's Thyroid Cancer History
On October 22, 2004, the 80-year-old Rehnquist was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital and underwent a tracheotomy in connection with a diagnosis of thyroid cancer.
Typically, thyroid cancer is usually highly curable, and is almost always treated with thyroidectomy -- surgery to remove the cancerous thyroid -- followed up by radioactive iodine treatment to ablate any cancerous tissue left behind.
The type of thyroid cancer was not revealed at that time -- and to this date, has yet to be revealed, but from the start, it was suspected that the Chief Justice might have anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare and almost always fatal form of the condition -- or, at minimum, a more aggressive, faster-moving form of thyroid cancer.
After the tracheotomy, subsequent treatment included chemotherapy and radiation.
After a fall during which he missed work extensively, Rehnquist seemed to bounce back somewhat in early 2005, when, though appearing frail, he managed to administer the oath of office to President Bush at his January 20, 2005 inauguration.
Rehnquist returned to the bench to hear cases in late March.
Rumors increased during the summer of 2005 that he would retire. When asked about whether he planned to retire after 33 years on the Court, according to the New York Times, Rehnquist responded: "That's for me to know and you to find out."
Rehnquist later quelled rumors, however, by releasing a statement on July 14th after an overnight hospitalization, stating: "I want to put to rest the speculation and unfounded rumors of my imminent retirement. I am not about to announce my retirement. I will continue to perform my duties as chief justice as long as my health permits."
On August 4, 2005 Rehnquist was again admitted to a hospital, this time with a fever.
Rehnquist died on September 3, 2005.
