Timeline: Justice O'Connor
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sandra Day O'Connor, who served on the Supreme Court for 24 terms, announced her retirement from the bench on July 1, 2005. She was the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and has made a permanent mark on the history of American politics. Here is a timeline of the highlights of her life:
1930: Sandra Day O’Connor born
1946: Graduated from high school, decides to attend Stanford University to study law.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1950: Received her B.A. in economics.
1952: Received her Bachelor of Law in just two years, rather than the customary three. She graduated magna cum laude, ranked third out of 102 students. Despite her honors, she has difficulties finding a job, as no women were lawyers at law firms.
1952-1953: Worked as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo County, California.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1953-1958: Worked as a civil attorney in Frankfurt, Germany.
1958:1960: Practiced law in Phoenix.
1965-1969: Worked as the assistant attorney general of Arizona.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1969: Appointed to the Arizona State Senate, and was re-elected to two two-year terms.
1973: Became the first woman to serve as state senate majority leader.
1975: Elected judge of Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1979: Appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by the governor.
1981: Appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan on August 19. She was confirmed unanimously by the Senate September 21, and was on the bench on September 25. She became the first woman to ever serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
1988: Treated successfully for breast cancer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}2000: Joined with six other justices to stop the Florida election recount, and worked with four other justices to rule that there would be no further recounts, which decided the election in favor of George W. Bush, instead of Al Gore.
Sources: Sandra Day O'Connor, Oyez: Supreme Court Multimedia: Sandra Day O'Connor.