Harry Blackmun

About

Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1994 who authored the most controversial decision of that age, Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion.

Before Fame

He attended Harvard College on a scholarship, graduating with honors with a degree in mathematics, and after graduation, on the advice of his friend, he sought judgeship.

Trivia

He was a compulsive record keeper, and he left a treasure trove of documents, everything from his notes to his receipts, open to the public after his death.

Family Life

He grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Dayton's Bluff, Minnesota, where one of his childhood friends was Warren Burger, who joined him on the Supreme Court.

Associated With

He played a Supreme Court justice in Steven Spielberg's film Amistad, making him the first Supreme Court justice to ever appear on film.