Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter has died at 85, the high court announced Friday.

“Justice David Souter served our court with great distinction for nearly twenty years,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. “He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service.”

The Supreme Court said Souter died Thursday, CNN reported.

President George H. W. Bush nominated Souter in 1990, and the justice retired in 2009.

Souter, who was from New Hampshire, often ruled with the high court's liberal wing. As a result, conservatives rallied, "No More Souters," which led to candidates being more rigorously vetted for their ideologies.

Souter's retirement led to President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court justice.