On Sept. 15, 1981, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. She served for 24 years, from 1981 until her retirement in 2006.
O’Connor was born on March 26, 1930, and grew up on her family’s cattle ranch in Duncan, Ariz., and with her grandmother in El Paso, Texas. After earning her degrees from Stanford University, O’Connor built a career in law and politics in her home state of Arizona. Before joining the Supreme Court, she became the first woman to serve as majority leader of a state senate in the United States from 1973-1974.
While on the Supreme Court, O’Connor was known as a practical, independent thinker whose votes decided some of the nation’s biggest cases. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), O’Connor helped preserve the constitutional right to abortion. O’Connor joined the majority in Bush v. Gore (2000) which ended the Florida recount, effectively deciding the presidential election. In Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), she authored the opinion to uphold affirmative action in college admissions, stating that education is benefited by diversity.
More than her landmark votes, O’Connor’s lasting legacy is the path she opened for women in law, government, and public service. She died on Dec. 1, 2023, from complications related to dementia and a respiratory illness.
