Sandra Day O'Connor (confirmed 21 September 1981)
Nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan on 19 August 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor (born 26 March 1930) was confirmed on 21 September 1981 by a Senate vote of 99-0.
In a letter to the New York Times on 5 October 1983, O'Connor referred to herself as "FWOTSC"--First Woman on the Supreme Court.
Noting that the Times had recently referred to the "nine old men" on the Supreme Court, she wrote:
Noting that the Times had recently referred to the "nine old men" on the Supreme Court, she wrote:
Although she retired from the Court in 2006, she continues to be an inspiration to women in the U.S., not least for breaking the Supreme Court's glass ceiling.According to the infomation available to me, and which I had assumed was generally available, for over two years now SCOTUS has not consisted of nine men. If you have any contradictory information, I would be grateful if you would forward it as I am sure the POTUS, the SCOTUS and the undersigned (the FWOTSC) would be most interested in seeing it.
Update, 1 December 2023: Sandra Day O’Connor has died, aged 93. For her Washington Post obituary, click here. And for The New York Times, here.
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| Sandra Day O'Connor, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan |
