 The youngest justice ever appointed was Joseph Story , 32 at the time of his appointment in 1812 ; the oldest was Charles Evans Hughes , who was 67 at the time of his appointment as Chief Justice in 1930 . ( Hughes had previously been appointed to the Court as an associate justice in 1910 , at the age of 48 , but had resigned in 1916 to run for president ) . Story went on to serve for 33 years , while Hughes served 11 years after his second appointment . The oldest justice at the time of his initial appointment was Horace Lurton , 65 at the time of his appointment in 1909 . Lurton died after only four years on the Court . The oldest sitting justice to be elevated to Chief Justice was Hughes ' successor , Harlan Fiske Stone , who was 68 at the time of his elevation in 1941 . Stone died in 1946 , only five years after his elevation . The oldest nominee to the court was South Carolina senator William Smith , nominated in 1837 , then aged around 75 ( it is known that he was born in 1762 , but not the exact date ) . The Senate confirmed Smith 's nomination by a vote of 23 – 18 , but Smith declined to serve . 
