Hale Collins, age 14, of Twin Falls, Idaho, for his question:

WHO WAS THE FIRST SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE?

In 1789, President George Washington appointed an American statesman named John Jay to be the first Chief Justice of the United States.

Jay was educated at King's College (now Columbia University) and admitted to the bar in 1768. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and again in 1775. He drafted the first constitution of New York State and was appointed chief justice of the state in 1777.

In 1778 Jay was again elected to the Continental Congress and was chosen its president. In 1782 he was one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain, ending the American Revolution.

From 1784 to 1789 Jay served as secretary for foreign affairs. With Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, he wrote the notable series of articles known as "The Federalist," which successfully urged ratification of the U.S. Constitution. He then became Chief Justice.

On his return to the U.S. from a negotiating session with Great Britain, Jay found that during his absence he had been elected governor of New York State. He resigned from the Court and served as governor from 1795 to 1801.

Jay spent the rest of his life in retirement. He died at the age of 84 in 1829.