John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who served from December 19, 1975, until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest Justice then serving, the second-oldest serving Justice in the history of the Court, and the third longest-serving Justice in history. He was nominated by President Gerald Ford. Justice Stevens was born in Hyde Park, Chicago, to a family of wealthy stature. he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Chicago in 1941. He enlisted in the U. S. Navy on December 6, 1941, one day before the attach on Pearl Harbor. Stevens was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in a codebreaking team. On January 20, 2009, Stevens administered the oath of office to Vice President Joe Biden at Biden's request. (It is customary for the vice president to be inaugurated by the person of his or her choice.) On April 9, 2010, Stevens announced his intention to retire from the Court. He did so on June 29, 2010. In 2012 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Stevens' book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, became a New York Times bestseller in 2014. John Paul Stevens passed away on July 16,2019, from complications from a stoke, at the age of 99. (Bowker Author Biography)