Nix, Robert N. C. Jr.
1928-2003 · Contribution: 1984
First African American chief justice of a state supreme court

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African American to serve as chief justice of a U.S. state supreme court in 1984, leading the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Life & background
Admitted to the bar around 1954, Nix became the first African American chief justice of a state supreme court in 1984, leading the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, a significant judicial leadership milestone.
Sources
- Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts (Robert N.C. Nix, Jr.); Pennsylvania Courts official biography (pacourts.us); BlackPast.org
More in Law & Civil Rights
Allen, Macon Bolling
1816-1894
First African American lawyer in the United States (1844); among the earliest Black judicial officeholders (Justice of the Peace, 1847)
Bedford, Louis A. Jr.
1926-2014
First African American judge in Dallas County, Texas
Bolin, Jane Matilda
1908-2007
First Black woman to become a judge in the United States
Booker, Cory Anthony
1969-
First African American U.S. senator from New Jersey