On September 26, 1789, President George Washington appointed John Jay as the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

John Jay showed exceptional intellectual promise at a very young age. He attended an exclusive boarding school in New York at age eight, and entered King's College (now Columbia University) at age fourteen. He graduated with highest honors from King’s College and began to study law under a local prominent attorney. In 1768, Jay was admitted to the Bar of New York. Within a few years he became one of the most prominent members of the New York Committee of Correspondence.

Jay entered New York state politics in 1774 and focused on the crisis between the American colonies and Great Britain. He attended the New York Convention of 1776-77 as a delegate and played a key role in shaping the state's constitution. Jay eventually became Chief Justice of the New York state Supreme Court.

At the federal level, Jay attended the First Continental Congress as the second youngest member at the age twenty-eight. Jay promoted reconciliation with Great Britain and decided to retire from Congress rather than sign the Declaration of Independence. Still, Jay was very well respected by his peers. In 1778, Jay was elected as the President of the Second Continental Congress to amend the Articles of Confederation and draft a new Constitution. In 1779, Jay was appointed Minister of Spain to build diplomatic relations and seek financial support. Jay helped to negotiate the peace terms to end the America's Revolution with Britain, and acted as one of the signatories for the Treaty of Paris in September 1783.

Jay was elected Secretary for Foreign Affairs upon his arrival to the United States in 1784. Then, Jay worked diligently to create and promote a new U.S. Constitution. Jay authored, along with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the now very famous composition of articles and essays called the Federalist Papers for people to read about why a new constitution was needed. In particular, Jay authored essays numbered two, three, four, five and sixty-four.

On September 26, 1789, President Washington appointed John Jay as the first Chief Justice of the new U.S. Supreme Court. Jay accepted the position but did not like the rigors of “riding circuit.” In those days, judges had to actually travel from city to city and town to town to hear cases, which was called “riding circuit.”

In 1794, Jay negotiated another treaty with Great Britain called the "Jay Treaty," and he was later elected Governor of New York for two terms.

Jay died in 1829 at the age of 83 and left behind a lasting legacy for the new country.