Love, look at the two of us,
Supreme in many ways

On March 29, sometime in the early 1950’s, William Rehnquist sent Stanford Law classmate and study buddy Sandra Day (the only woman in the law school) a letter. Writing that he wanted to discuss “important things” with her Bill popped the question:

“To be specific, Sandy, will you marry me this summer?”

Twenty-six year old William Rehnquist seems to have had with women a similar condition to that of William James about whom Louis Menand wrote, “he had an unfortunate habit of picking targets already pierced by the arrows of other men” for on that March 29 of whatever year, 20 or 21 or 22 year old Sandra Day had completed her 40th date in 40 days with John Jay O’Connor who she married in 1952.

Bill and Sandy renewed their study buddy relationship in 1981 on the United States Supreme Court.