Joseph Story (1779–1845), jurist, legal scholar, and educator, was a native of Marblehead, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1798, studied law, joined the bar in 1801, and established his legal practice in Salem, Massachusetts. Story declined TJ’s appointment in 1803 as naval officer for Salem and Beverley, Massachusetts. He was in the state House of Representatives, 1805–08, and again in 1811, when he served as Speaker. As a member of the United States House of Representatives, 1808–09, Story adamantly opposed the Embargo Act of 1807, and TJ credited its repeal to his influence. President James Madison nominated Story to the United States Supreme Court in 1811 despite TJ’s opposition. He took his seat on 3 Feb. 1812 as the youngest person ever appointed to the court and served until his death. A strong supporter of Chief Justice John Marshall, Story opposed states’ rights and supported interpretations of the United States Constitution that strengthened and expanded the power of the federal government. In 1829 Story accepted the position of Dane Professor of Law at Harvard, which he also served as overseer, 1818–25, and fellow, 1825–45. During his tenure attendance at the law school increased dramatically, as did its prestige. Story was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and, from 1844, a member of the American Philosophical Society. His many scholarly publications included a series of influential treatises on technical legal subjects, with the Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 3 vols. (1833), being among the most important (ANB description begins John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes, eds., American National Biography, 1999, 24 vols. description ends ; DAB description begins Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., Dictionary of American Biography, 1928–36, 20 vols. description ends ; R. Kent Newmyer, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story: Statesman of the Old Republic [1985]; Story, Miscellaneous Writings, Literary, Critical, Juridical, and Political [1835]; William W. Story, ed., Life and Letters of Joseph Story, 2 vols. [1851]; Harvard Catalogue description begins Harvard University Quinquennial Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates, 1636–1925, 1925 description ends , 120, 181; JEP description begins Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States description ends , 1:441, 446, 453, 2:189, 190 [4 Feb., 1 Mar., 11 Nov. 1803, 15, 18 Nov. 1811]; Story to TJ, 14 Jan. 1806 [MHi]; TJ to Henry Dearborn, 16 July 1810; TJ to Madison, 15 Oct. 1810; APS description begins American Philosophical Society description ends , Proceedings 4 [1844]: 37–9; Boston Daily Atlas, 12 Sept. 1845; Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 15 Sept. 1845).