The Biography of John Marshall Harlan II John Marshall Harlan II was born on May 20, 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. He was born to John Maynard Harlan, an attorney, and Elizabeth Flagg Harlan. John Marshall Harlan II came from a long line of political servants, of whom his grandfather is probably most notable. John Marshall Harlan I, whom John Marshall Harlan II was named after, sat on the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice from 1877 to 1911. Johan Marshall Harlan II is best remembered as the lone dissenter of the ‘separate but equal' defense to the upholding of Plessy v. Ferguson. John Marshall Harlan II followed in his family's footsteps regarding the furthering of