First Female Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Dies at 93

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, died today at the age of 93. From the early 1990s until 2005, when she retired, O’Connor was known as a “swing” justice, often casting the deciding vote in cases, sometimes siding with conservatives and other times siding with liberals.

Her voting record pales in comparison to the milestone accomplishment of being the first woman on the Supreme Court. More importantly, she paved the way for more female Supreme Court justices to be involved with historic decision-making.

In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton.

Following that, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson were appointed to the Supreme Court between 2009 and 2022, and still serve to this day, which makes nearly half the Supreme Court female for the first time ever.