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In this June 17, 1986, file photo, President Ronald Reagan speaks at a news briefing at the White House in Washington, where he announced the nomination of Antonin Scalia, left, to the Supreme Court as a result of Chief Justice Warren E. Burger's resignation. William Rehnquist is at right.(Photo: Ron Edmonds, AP)
Antonin Scalia's death Saturday represents<span style="color: Red;">*</span>only the third time in more than 50 years that a Supreme Court justice has died while still in office.
In 2005, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, passed away at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>age 81. Before that, the last justice to meet the same fate was Robert Jackson in 1954.
In a 2012 blog post,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Marquette University Law School noted that 38 of 57 Supreme Court justices who served between 1876 and 1900 died in office, while 39 of 46 who have served since that time left in retirement. And for 50 years —1955 to 2005 – not one justice died while in office.
USA TODAY
Justice Scalia found dead at Texas ranch
The Supreme Court justices, from left, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, pose for a group portrait.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> 2010 photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
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"Why was it so much more common for justices to die in office during the Court’s earlier history?" the blog's authors ask. "A shorter life span for the justices is clearly part of the answer. Seventeen of the first 38 justices to die while in office died prior to their 70th birthday. In contrast, the six<span style="color: Red;">*</span>justices who have retired since 1990 had either reached, or were approaching, their 70th birthdays at the time they stepped down."
Those retirees include<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sandra Day O'Connor (1981-2006, retired at 75),<span style="color: Red;">*</span>David Souter (1990-2009, retired at 69) and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>John Paul Stevens (1975-2010, retired at 90).
Scalia, who<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, passed away apparently due to natural causes after quail hunting with friends on a ranch in West Texas.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>He was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>79.
USA TODAY
Timeline: Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia's life
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