Clarence Thomas is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1991. After Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Supreme Court and has been its longest-serving member since Anthony Kennedy's retirement in 2018. Since Stephen Breyer's retirement in 2022, he is also the Court's oldest member.
Official portrait, 2007
Thomas's 1967 high school yearbook picture
Dinand Library at the College of the Holy Cross, where Thomas studied for college
Thomas is sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office for Civil Rights in 1981
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869.
Clarence Thomas, since October 23, 1991
Samuel Alito, since January 31, 2006
Sonia Sotomayor, since August 8, 2009
Elena Kagan, since August 7, 2010