Although he was president for less than three years, John F. Kennedy appointed two men to the Supreme Court of the United States: Byron White and Arthur Goldberg.
Two names initially came up as potential nominees: Judge William H. Hastie of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Harvard Law School Professor Paul A. Freund.
[2] In addition, President Kennedy's adviser, Ted Sorensen, opposed Hastie because Kennedy was in the process of considering another African-American, Robert C. Weaver, for a cabinet post (Weaver ultimately became the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, inviting the charge of reverse racism).
[4] Ultimately, Kennedy selected White, who was a longtime supporter of his and who had been serving as United States Deputy Attorney General.
[5][6] After suffering a stroke, Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter retired (technically taking senior status) from the Supreme Court on August 28, 1962, at the age of 79.