Historical Figure
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
d. 2020
US Supreme Court justice from 1993 to 2020
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Biography
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton to replace retiring justice Byron White, and at the time was viewed as a moderate consensus-builder. Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court, after Sandra Day O'Connor. During her tenure, Ginsburg authored the majority opinions in cases such as United States v. Virginia (1996), Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc. (2000), and City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York (2005). Later in her tenure, Ginsburg received attention for passionate dissents that reflected liberal views of the law.
In Their Own Words (5)
You're saying, no, State did two kinds of marriage, the full marriage, and then this sort of skim milk marriage.
United States v. Windsor, oral argument (27 March 2013) , 2013
At the Supreme Court, those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know.
Gerstein, Josh; Ward, Alexander (May 2, 2022). "Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows". Politico. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2022. , 2022
Think back to 1787. Who were 'we the people'? … They certainly weren't women … they surely weren't people held in human bondage. The genius of our Constitution is that over now more than 200 sometimes turbulent years that 'we' has expanded and expanded.
On the fight for equality. Source: Appearance at Georgetown University, 2015. As quoted in: Li Cohen (September 19, 2022): Ruth Bader Ginsburg's iconic quotes on law, love and the fight for equality. In: CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. , 1787
Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.
Interview, The New York Times Magazine (7 July 2009) , 2009
Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.
On the fight for equality. Source: CNN, 2009. As quoted in: Li Cohen (September 19, 2022): Ruth Bader Ginsburg's iconic quotes on law, love and the fight for equality. In: CBS News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. , 2009
Timeline
The story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, told in moments.
Born Joan Ruth Bader in Brooklyn, New York. Her father is a furrier. Her mother, who never attended college, saves money from her job at a garment factory to pay for Ruth's education. She dies of cancer the day before Ruth's high school graduation.
Enrolls at Harvard Law School, one of nine women in a class of 500. The dean invites the women to dinner and asks each to justify taking a seat that could've gone to a man. She transfers to Columbia when her husband gets a job in New York. She ties for first in the class.
Co-founds the ACLU's Women's Rights Project. She argues six gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court over the next four years. Wins five. Her strategy is deliberate: she picks male plaintiffs in several cases to show the justices that sex-based laws hurt everyone.
Sworn in as the second woman on the Supreme Court, nominated by President Clinton. She's 60. The Senate confirms her 96 to 3.
A Tumblr account dubs her "Notorious R.B.G." after the rapper Notorious B.I.G. She's 80 years old. She embraces it. T-shirts, tote bags, Halloween costumes. She does 20 pushups a day with her personal trainer.
Dies at home in Washington, D.C., from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She's 87. She's served 27 years on the Court. Thousands gather outside the Supreme Court building to leave candles and flowers. Her dying wish, dictated to her granddaughter: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."
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