Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun '29, the author of the controversial Roe vs. Wade decision upholding legalized abortion, died yesterday. He was 90.

Blackmun was appointed to the bench in 1970. by president Richard M. Nixon, and served until 1994. He had hip replacement surgery 10 days ago, and passed away from complications resulting from that surgery.

A strong proponent of what he called "the art as well as the science of law," Blackmun began as a self-proclaimed "strict constructionist"--unwilling to see meanings in the constitution far outside the letter of the document.

He would later transform into one of the court's most progressive jurists, winning him praise from victim's right advocacy groups and scorn from the conservatives who had originally supported his appointment.

But Blackmun said he had always remained true to himself. His own political views, he had been known to say, were always in the middle between liberal and conservative.

Blackmun's guiding light may have been this distinction: the Constitution is primarily a procedural document, guaranteeing law, order and the inviolability of right. It is not, he felt, a moral code.

"He was a true man of the people," said Climenko Professor of Law Charles J. Ogletree. "He always loved the law, and the law will love him by preserving his legacy."

Ogletree also praised Blackmun not only for his legal skills, but for the justice's unique human touch.

"He was quiet, patient man who always expressed humility. He never sought praise for his own work," he said. "He was in many ways the quintessential virtuous lawyer."

In 1973, Blackmun wrote the majority opinion is Roe vs. Wade, which asserted for women a right to abortion.

The proper role of government, he wrote, was to proclaim its neutrality in the moral dimensions of the debate.

By deduction, he wrote, the decision to terminate pregnancy was not with in the legitimate sphere of governmental action, concluding, "A right of personal privacy...is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."

Yet, while Blackmun's legacy is

rooted in the Roe vs. Wade decision, his memoryextends beyond the courtroom. Friends andcolleagues recounted the devoted relationshipBlackmun shared with his wife Dorothy--whom heaffectionately called Dottie--since their 1941marriage.

"I found completely touching how connected hewas with his wife," said Nadine Strossen '72, nowpresident of the American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU).

"He'd never say `We'", she said. "He wouldalways say `Dottie and I'".