About Marshall, John Marshall Metropolitan High School

John Marshall was born in a log cabin in Germantown, Virginia on September 24, 1755. The oldest of 15 children he attended school in Westmoreland County, Virginia where he studied math, science, literature, Latin and other languages. One of John Marshall’s classmates at the school became the fifth president of the United States. You probably know the name of that student is James Monroe.
As a young man John Marshall studied law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and served as a lieutenant during the American Revolution. In the winter of 1777-1778 he led troops at Valley Forge under George Washington’s command.

A few years after leaving the army he married Mary Willis Ambler; they had 10 children. To support his growing family, John Marshall practiced law in Virginia and entered politics, running for a seat in the Richmond Virginia City Council in 1785. He finished in second place and later served as a representative of Virginia.

Saddened by the death of his friend and former army superior, George Washington, John Marshall spoke at the resident’s funeral in 1799 and spent the next five years writing a 3,200 page biography of the nation’s first president.

In 1800 President John Adams appointed John Marshall Secretary of State and the following year President Adams appointed him Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, a position he held for 34 years. During his long tenure as Chief Justice John Marshall oversaw important court cases including the treason trial of Aaron Burr.

A few years after the death of his wife John Marshall was injured in an accident involving a stagecoach. He died on July 6, 1835, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was buried in the Shockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia. He was 79 years old.

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