Who Is Thurgood Marshall? Age, Biography and Wiki
Born on July 2, 1908, Thurgood Marshall made history as the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court from 1967 until his retirement in 1991. Although he has since passed away, Marshall's legacy continues to influence discussions on civil rights and social justice. By 2025, the world remembers him as a pioneering figure who challenged racial barriers and fought for equality in the legal system.
| Occupation | Supreme Court Justice |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | July 2, 1908 |
| Age | 84 Years |
| Birth Place | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Cancer |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 24 January, 1993 |
| Died Place | Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
Popularity
Thurgood Marshall's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific details about Thurgood Marshall's height and weight are not commonly discussed in historical contexts, he is described as having a commanding physical presence. His stature, combined with his eloquent voice, made him a compelling advocate for justice throughout his career.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
As an established figure in the civil rights movement, Thurgood Marshall was married to his wife, Cecilia Suyat, from 1955 until his passing in 1993. They had two children together. The couple enjoyed a strong partnership that supported Marshall's career, yet little is publicly known about his dating or relationship status beyond his marriage, largely due to a focus on his professional life and achievements.
His father held various jobs as a waiter in hotels, in clubs, and on railroad cars, and his mother was an elementary school teacher. The family moved to New York City in search of better employment opportunities not long after Thurgood's birth; they returned to Baltimore when he was six years old.
He was an energetic and boisterous child who frequently found himself in trouble. Following legal cases was one of William's hobbies, and Thurgood oftentimes went to court with him to observe the proceedings. Marshall later said that his father "never told me to become a lawyer, but he turned me into one...
He taught me how to argue, challenged my logic on every point, by making me prove every statement I made, even if we were discussing the weather."
Net Worth and Salary
While Thurgood Marshall's exact net worth at the time of his passing isn't definitively known, estimates suggest it was several million dollars, largely from his long and esteemed legal career and his tenure with the Supreme Court. Justice Marshall's role as a law professor and public speaker after his time on the court also contributed to his financial standing, though that is more of a retrospective estimate given the historical context.
Houston returned to Washington in 1938, and Marshall assumed his position as special counsel the following year. He also became the director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. (the Inc Fund), which had been established as a separate organization for tax purposes.
In addition to litigating cases and arguing matters before the Supreme Court, he was responsible for raising money, managing the Inc Fund, and conducting public-relations work.
Marshall litigated a number of cases involving unequal salaries for African Americans, winning nearly all of them; by 1945, he had ended salary disparities in major Southern cities and earned a reputation as a prominent figure in the civil rights movement.
He also defended individuals who had been charged with crimes before both trial courts and the Supreme Court. Of the thirty-two civil rights cases that Marshall argued before the Supreme Court, he won twenty-nine. He and W. J. Durham wrote the brief in Smith v.
Allwright (1944), in which the Court ruled the white primary unconstitutional, and he successfully argued both Morgan v. Virginia (1946), involving segregation on interstate buses, and a companion case to Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), involving racially restrictive covenants.
Career, Business and Investments
Thurgood Marshall's career was marked by numerous significant achievements. He started as a civil rights attorney and gained national recognition by successfully arguing the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
His judicial career began in 1961 when he was appointed as the U.S. Court of Appeals judge for the Second Circuit, followed by his nomination to the Supreme Court in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout his 24 years on the Supreme Court, Marshall remained a strong advocate for civil rights, affirmative action, and the rights of the accused.
Marshall's nomination to the office of Solicitor General was widely viewed as a stepping stone to a Supreme Court appointment. Johnson pressured Southern senators not to obstruct Marshall's confirmation, and a hearing before a Senate subcommittee lasted only fifteen minutes; the full Senate confirmed him on August 11, 1965.
As Solicitor General, Marshall won fourteen of the nineteen Supreme Court cases he argued. He later characterized the position as "the most effective job" and "maybe the best" job he ever had. Marshall argued in Harper v.
Virginia State Board of Elections (1966) that conditioning the ability to vote on the payment of a poll tax was unlawful; in a companion case to Miranda v. Arizona (1966), he unsuccessfully maintained on behalf of the government that federal agents were not always required to inform arrested individuals of their rights.
He defended the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966) and Katzenbach v. Morgan (1966), winning both cases.
Social Network
Posthumously, Thurgood Marshall's influence continues to thrive through various social networks and organizations dedicated to civil rights and social justice advocacy. His legacy is celebrated on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by various civil rights groups that share quotes, achievements, and educational initiatives inspired by his work.
Like most Supreme Court justices, many of Marshall's law clerks went on to become prominent lawyers and legal scholars. His clerks included future Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan, U.S. circuit judge Douglas H. Ginsburg, and legal scholars Cass Sunstein, Mark Tushnet, and Martha Minow.
Education
Thurgood Marshall's educational journey began at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he earned his undergraduate degree. He then attended Howard University School of Law, where he graduated first in his class in 1933. Marshall's education ignited his passion for civil rights law and laid a robust foundation for his future endeavors in fighting for equality.
Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice.
Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was a prominent figure in the movement to end racial segregation in American public schools.
He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967.
A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became increasingly conservative.
