John Marshall

John Marshall (1755–1835) was an American statesman and the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. A Virginian, he fought in the Revolutionary War, including the winter at Valley Forge, then practiced law, served as an envoy to France in the XYZ affair, sat in Congress and was secretary of state under John Adams. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1801, he served for thirty-four years and, in decisions such as Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland, established judicial review and a strong federal government. At Bushrod Washington's invitation he wrote a five-volume Life of George Washington.