Gabriel Duvall
A steadfast judicial loyalist who served for 23 years on the Marshall Court, quietly shaping the foundation of American constitutional law.
1752–1844 (age 92)·US Supreme Court justice from 1811 to 1835·Birthday: December 6
Biography
Gabriel Duvall's long life spanned the birth and turbulent early decades of the United States. A Maryland politician and financier who served as Comptroller of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by President James Madison in 1811. For nearly a quarter-century, he was a reliable and quiet ally to Chief Justice John Marshall, consistently voting with the majority in the landmark decisions that established federal supremacy and a robust national economy, like McCulloch v. Maryland. While he authored few significant opinions himself, his unwavering support was part of the solid bloc that gave Marshall's court its defining cohesion. Plagued by deafness in his later years, he became a largely silent presence on the bench before retiring in 1835 at the age of 82, one of the oldest justices to ever serve.
#1 When Gabriel Was Born
The biggest hits of 1752
Gabriel's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1752Born
1757Started school
1765Became a teenager
1768Could drive
1770Could vote
1773Turned 21
1782Turned 30
1792Turned 40
1802Turned 50
1812Turned 60
1822Turned 70
1832Turned 80
1844Died at 92
Key Achievements
- Served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 23 years, from 1811 to 1835.
- Was the Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson.
- Served as a U.S. Representative from Maryland from 1794 to 1796.
- His tenure encompassed the entire era of the influential Marshall Court.
Did You Know?
He is one of the few Supreme Court justices to have also served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He was a slaveholder throughout his life, a fact documented in census records.
He served in the Maryland militia during the American Revolutionary War.
His profound deafness in later years made him largely inactive on the Court well before his official retirement.
“The Constitution is a compact of the people, not the states.”
