Jour­nal­ists and pun­dits are not­ing that Elena Kagan’s

con­fir­ma­tion to the Supreme Court last week marks the first time three women have served con­cur­rently on

the high court. How­ever, Kagan’s con­fir­ma­tion marks another historic

occa­sion — the first time in 168 years that three Prince­to­ni­ans have shared

the bench.

While 2010’s trio con­sists of Samuel Alito ’ 72, Sonia

Sotomayor ’76, and Elena Kagan ’81, the 1842 trio con­sisted of Smith Thompson

‘1788, Peter V. Daniel ‘1805, and James Moore Wayne ‘1808.

Jus­tices Thompson

‘1788 (Under­grad­u­ate Alumni Records), Daniel ‘1805 (Dick­in­son University’s House Divided Project), and Wayne ‘1808 (Library of Con­gress).

Prior to Kagan’s con­fir­ma­tion, the tenure of Sotomayor and

Alito marked the first time since 1860 that two Prince­to­ni­ans shared the bench.

2010 Prince­ton Jus­tices Alito, Sotomayor, and Kagan (Source: Nas­sau Herald)

While rel­a­tively few Prince­to­ni­ans have served together as

Supreme Court Jus­tices, Prince­ton has often had a rep­re­sen­ta­tive on the court,

with 12 alumni serv­ing as justices:

• William Pater­son, a mem­ber of the class of 1763, from 1793 to 1806.
• Oliver Ellsworth, a mem­ber of the class of 1766, from 1796 to 1800

  (served as chief justice).

• William John­son Jr., a mem­ber of the class of 1790, from 1804 to 1834.
• (Henry) Brock­holst Liv­ingston, a mem­ber of the class of 1774, from 1806

  to 1823.

• Smith Thomp­son, a mem­ber of the class of 1788, from 1823 to 1843.
• Peter V. Daniel, a mem­ber of the class of 1805, from 1842 to 1860.
• James Moore Wayne, a mem­ber of the class of 1808, from 1835 to

  1867.

• Mahlon Pit­ney, a mem­ber of the class of 1879, from 1912 to 1922.
• John Mar­shall Har­lan, a mem­ber of the class of

  1920, from 1955 to 1971.

• Samuel Alito Jr., a mem­ber of the class of 1972, from 2006 to the

  present.

• Sonia

  Sotomayor, a mem­ber of the class of 1976, from 2009 to the present.

• Elena Kagan, a mem­ber of the class of 1981, sworn in August 2010