Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies: Champion of Gender Equality
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was rejected by every law firm she applied to after graduating first in her class from Columbia Law School in 1959. She was a woman, she was Jewish, and she was a mother — three strikes. She ended up teaching law instead. Her strategy for dismantling gender discrimination in the courts was deliberate: she selected cases involving men discriminated against by gender-based laws, calculating that male judges would find those easier to sympathize with. It worked. By the time she joined the Supreme Court in 1993, the legal architecture of sex discrimination had been fundamentally altered by her earlier work. She died in September 2020, six weeks before a presidential election.
September 18, 2020
6 years ago
What Else Happened on September 18
The Roman Senate formally confirmed Tiberius as emperor, solidifying the transition of power after Augustus died of natural causes. This peaceful succession pro…
Court officials and his own wife, Domitia, orchestrated the assassination of Emperor Domitian, ending his fifteen-year reign of terror. The Senate immediately p…
The Roman Senate proclaimed Nerva emperor immediately following Domitian’s assassination, ending the Flavian dynasty’s erratic rule. By choosing a respected eld…
Licinius had ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire for years, but Constantine had been closing the distance. The Battle of Chrysopolis on September 18, 324…
The Seljuq commander Kutalmış led a cavalry force deep into Byzantine Armenia and met a combined Byzantine-Georgian army near Kapetron — and won. The Byzantines…
Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson anchored their fleet at the mouth of the Humber River, launching a desperate bid to seize the English throne. This invasion…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.