born April 20, 1920, Chicago, Ill., U.S.
U.S. jurist.
He studied law at Northwestern University and clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States before joining a Chicago law firm, where he specialized in antitrust law while also teaching and serving on various public commissions. He was appointed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (1970) by Pres. Richard Nixon and to the Supreme Court by Pres. Gerald Ford (1975). Though initially perceived as a conservative, he proved to be a moderate liberal; indeed, as the court became more conservative in the 1980s and early '90s, after appointments by Pres. Ronald Reagan and Pres. George Bush , Stevens became perhaps the court's most liberal member.