Pres. Lyndon Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court on June 13, 1967

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Thurgood Marshall was nominated to serve as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court on June 13, 1967. President Lyndon Johnson selected him to fill the seat being vacated by Tom C. Clark. Marshall was the first black member of the court, and its first non-white justice.

The United States Senate voted 69-11 to confirm Marshall as associate justice. At the time of his appointment, Marshall was serving as Solicitor General.

Thurgood Marshall had made his reputation as a civil rights attorney. He represented the NAACP on many cases. Marshall had argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court at the time of his appointment. He won 29 of those cases, including the famous Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

Prior to his term as Solicitor General, Marshall had been appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. He served in that capacity from 1961 to 1965.

Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice on October 2, 1967. He served for 24 years, retiring in October of 1991.