it's the return of "On This Day In US Supreme Court History"!

on this day in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as an associate justice.

on this day in 1986, Antonin Scalia was commissioned as associate justice (soon after completion of his semi-autobiographical novel, which was later turned into a popular Scorsese movie staring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci).

on this day in 1986, William Rehnquist died. within minutes, he was propped in his chair by a group of law clerks and commissioned as Chief Justice. due to his extreme advanced age at the time of his death, he is technically considered a well preserved mummy. he still sits in his chair to this day, dead, and held up by a combination of dow rods and a complex weaving of bent and twisted wire coat hangers.

for more "On This Day in SCOTUS History," try the Oyez Project.