William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 â January 19, 1980) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court. In 1975, a TIME article called Douglas "the most doctrinaire and committed civil libertarian ever to sit on the court." He was replaced on the Court by John Paul Stevens, and the combination of the tenure of the two justices on the Court stretched 71 years, a seat held longer by two justices than any other.
