WASHINGTON —  Important dates and years in the life of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito:

April 1, 1950: Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. born in Trenton, N.J.

1972: Graduates Princeton University.

1975: Graduates Yale Law School.

1976: Clerks for Judge Leonard I. Garth of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

1977: Works as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

1981: Works as an assistant to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee at the Justice Department.

1985: Works as deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin Meese.

1985: Marries Martha-Ann Bomgardner.

1987: Works as U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

Feb. 20, 1990: Nominated by President George H.W. Bush as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

April 27, 1990: Confirmed as a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by unanimous consent in the Senate.

July 1, 2005: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement.

July 19: President George W. Bush nominates U.S. Appeals Court Judge John Roberts to succeed O'Connor.

Sept. 3: Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist dies.

Sept. 6: Bush nominates Roberts to succeed Rehnquist.

Sept. 29: Senate confirms Roberts as chief justice of the United States on a 78-22 vote.

Oct. 3: Bush nominates White House counsel Harriet Miers as a justice to succeed O'Connor.

Oct. 27: White House announces Miers' withdrawal as Supreme Court nominee, and says a replacement will be announced quickly.

Oct. 31: Bush nominates Alito as a justice to succeed O'Connor.

Jan. 9-13, 2006: Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings for Alito.

Jan. 24: Senate Judiciary Committee, on 10-8 party line vote, sends Alito's nomination to full Senate for approval.

Tuesday: Senate votes 58-42 to make Alito the nation's 110th justice.