I am fascinated with him (and admire him a great deal) and I just want
to know as much about him as possible. I already know basic info about
his background and education, but I'd like to know more personal
information about him. For instance, I know he is a widower, but what
was his relationship with his wife like? Does he ever talk about her
intimately? Does or did he have siblings and what kind of relationship
did he have with his parents?  What did his neighbors think of him in
Phoenix and now in DC? What is the real cause of his chronic lower
back pain-is it a from disease or an injury of some sort? I heard he
smokes-how heavy a smoker is he? What about his health in general-Does
he have any other problems besides the back pain? These are just some
questions that I would really love to know the answers to. I hope I
don't sound like a stalker-I would never try and find him or harm him
in any way. There just doesn't seem to be too much personal info on
him and I'm just very curious. Thanks

Hi stacey and thanks for this detective type question.

There is not much information about his personal relationships with
his late wife or his three children however there are fifteen books
written by him which might be able to give you a more personal angle
on his life: Books by Chief Justice Rehnquist that are available
online:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-keywords=William%20H.%20Rehnquist&bq=1/104-3152681-2387110


Here is what I have been able to find out about him:

Name:             William H. Rehnquist
Position:         Chief Justice
Born:             October 1, 1924
Place of Birth:   Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Parents: Father   William Benjamin Rehnquist, a paper salesman  
        Mother:   Margery Peck Rehnquist

        Wife:     Natalie Cornell of San Diego, California, (died in
1991 after a long battle with cancer)

Children:           James born in 1955
                    Janet born in 1957
                    Nancy born in 1959.




His late wife worked for the CIA ?
http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/dean/20020426.html

FA good factual biography is available here giving details about his
early career etc…
http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court/justices/rehnquist.html

I hope this helps you in your quest for more information about this
great man!

Good luck in your quest.

THX1138


Search Terms Used:
Chief Justice Rehnquist
://www.google.com/search?as_q=Chief+Justice+Rehnquist+&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

---

Request for Answer Clarification by stacey-ga on 14 Jun 2002 21:18 PDT

Hi there,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I didn't know
that his late wife had worked at the CIA nor that he was supposedly
dating a woman. I knew or had seen pretty much everything else that
you gave in your answer, including his books. Is there any way that
you could find some more articles (either online or printed at the
library that I could find) that have more trivia about him? I realize
that my question is tough, but I would greatly appreciate any more
help that you could offer. Thanks again!

---

Clarification of Answer by thx1138-ga on 14 Jun 2002 22:10 PDT

Hi stacey,
Here is my help with your clarification (and I must say this has been
a real education for me too, thanks for the question)

I’m afraid the link to this story is broken, however:
“Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, daughter of U.S. Chief Justice
William Rehnquist, found that the workshops by the Stop AIDS Project
appeared to directly promote sexual activity”
http://www.bushnews.com/archive2002/Jan/01.05.02.htm

“Am I annoying or not” has this to say about our Man:
http://www.amiannoyingornot.com/view.asp?ID=800

“As for Rehnquist, a widower, the dean of the University of Arizona
law school denies that he's about to come on board. But people who
know him think he's restless enough to leave the court if, they say,
for example, he becomes romantically involved. That's more than enough
fodder to keep the gossip mills churning.”
http://www.slam.ca/CNEWSLaw0102/19_time1.html


An excellent search about his daughter Janet Rehnquist can be found
here:
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=General+Janet+Rehnquist&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

It seems that there are many people (mostly of the fairer sex, it has
to be said)have an interest in Chief Justice Rehnquist, might I
suggest you start an information gathering group on the internet to
share information? If you would be interested in starting such a group
you might be interested in going to: http://groups.yahoo.com/

I hope this limited clarification has been of some help to you, if so
please do not hesitate to rate my answer.

Good luck with your further investigations, and thank you for aking
for a clarification.

THX1138

I was impressed with the clarification. The initial answer gave me
much less information, but the clarification was enough to bump up the
rating. Although I didn't get the answers to many of the original
questions I asked, I did get some links and suggestions to point me in
the right direction. Again, I realize that my question was difficult
and I appreciate the time you took to answer it!

Stacey,

I am also fascinated by Rehnquist, for ..various.. reasons.

Did you ever do a Google search for "rehnquist gossip"?
Interesting results:

First one:

Washington Post - Live Online by Lloyd Grove
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/02/source/source040502.htm

"Chief Justice Rehnquist has a thing for alien abduction books. Bought
at least three of 'em one evening. "

Second one:

FindLaw's Writ - Washington Buzz on High Court Vacancies by John W
Dean
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020426.html

"All of my Rehnquist sources think the seventy-seven-year-old Chief
Justice will resign after the 2002 elections, regardless of who wins
the Senate. And he'll do so well before the end of Bush's first term,
so that the vacancy is not held over until the 2004 presidential
election. In short, we'll have a new Chief Justice before the next
presidential election."


Again, that search was for "rehnquist gossip"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rehnquist+gossip


Sincerely,
CJS

The Oyez project, at
http://oyez.org/justices/justices.cgi?justice_id=100, is a good
resource.

From it, I gleaned that Rehnquist is from a Scandanavian Lutheran
background, married in 1953, and received three degrees from Stanford
and an additional MA from Harvard. During WWII, Renquist "enlisted in
the air force branch of the army as a weather observer. He served in
North Africa." Renquist met his wife during  law school. "Rehnquist
chose Phoenix for its pleasant weather and favorable political
leanings.... [Since his wife's death,] Rehnquist now engages his free
time with quiet hobbies. He still maintains the tradition of a
Christmas carol party, which he hosts every year. "

http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=18750 includes a bit
more info about Renquist's mother and his early life.

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/players/rehnquist/
says he is "known for humility and a quirky sense of humor".
You can find a few other details (elem schools attended, church
affiliation) at http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/rehnquist.bio.html

A Booklist review of Justices of the United States Supreme Court
(found at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0028656342/qid=1024111276/sr=1-46/ref=sr_1_46/103-8798343-2439003)
suggested these sources as well as American National Biography
(Oxford, 1999) (which is described at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/019512782X/reviews/qid=1024112275/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/103-8798343-2439003)

One article (http://www.powells.com/features/bibliolatry/10.html)
claims that Rehnquist was intimate with Truman Capote.

Rehnquist is listed as an author on

Supreme Court Justices 1789 1995 : Illustrated Biographies, 1789-1995
by Clare Cushman (Editor), Supreme Court Historical Society, William
H. Rehnquist

Paperback: 588 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.50 x 10.00 x 8.51 
*	Publisher: Congressional Quarterly Books (Sd); ISBN: 1568021267; 2nd
edition (January 2001)
(see 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568021267/qid=1024106824/sr=1-12/ref=sr_1_12/103-8798343-2439003)

I would imagine (but can't confirm) that a biography of the Chief
Justice would appear in this book.

----
Other references I used (little or no new info)
http://www.usscplus.com/info/justices.htm and
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/sidebars/supremecourt/justicebios.htm
http://www.law.upenn.edu/fac/bwoodhou/vsc/rehnqu01.htm

All I can say about Rehnquist is that he has said before that the
Supreme Court decision on the World War II American internment of
Japanese Americans (declaring it constitutional) was appropriate. I
don't know about you, but personally, I find that despicable.