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.
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."
In Their Own Words (20)
She said, 'Dear, in every good marriage it helps sometimes to be a little deaf.' And I followed that advice in dealing not only with my dear spouse but in dealing even with my colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court."
On love. Ruth Bader Ginsburg on advice from her mother-in-law. 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., 2022
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
It helps sometimes to be a little deaf (in marriage and in) every workplace, including the good job I have now.
About marriage and work. As quoted in: Jay Croft (September 20, 2020): 10 quotes that help define the ‘Notorious RBG’ legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In: CNN. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022., 2020
When I’m sometimes asked ‘When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?’ and my answer is: ‘When there are nine.’ People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.
About women on the United States Supreme Court. As quoted in: Jay Croft (September 20, 2020): 10 quotes that help define the ‘Notorious RBG’ legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In: CNN. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022., 2020
My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.
Ginsburg's statement dictated to her granddaughter a few days before her death, as reported in "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion Of Gender Equality, Dies At 87" by Nina Totenberg, NPR.org (18 September 2020), 2020
Artifacts (13)
United States Reports, Volume 514
Supreme Court of the United States. Reporter of decisions: Frank D. Wagner
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 300 Statements der berühmten Supreme-Court-Richterin - Herausgegeben von Helena Hunt
»Vorreiterin. Heldin. Wonderwoman.« (ttt) Ruth Bader Ginsburg hat die Welt verändert. Ihr Gesicht prangt auf T-Shirts, ihre mutige Haltung inspiriert Menschen aller Generationen. Die zierliche...
Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue: A Life's Work Fighting for a More Perfect Union
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's last book is a curation of her own legacy, tracing the long history of her work for gender equality and a “more perfect Union.” In the fall of 2019, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg...
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