The first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court is also a member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame!
Sandra Day O’Connor grew up on her parents’ cattle ranch in Arizona. During the school year, she lived with her grandmother in El Paso, Texas, to attend better schools than those near the remote ranch. She returned home to the Lazy B during the summer where her father taught her to drive cattle, ride, and other necessary skills for life on the ranch.
This split time between her parents and grandmother fostered an independence in Sandra. She graduated high school early, starting Stanford University at age 16. She then graduated Stanford Law School in 1952 and married her fellow law student, John O’Connor.
After graduation she found it difficult to get hired as an attorney due to the attitudes of the time. “I called at least 40 of those firms asking for an interview, and not one of them would give me an interview,” she recalled. “They said, ‘We don’t hire women,’ and that was a shock to me.” It wasn’t until she agreed to work for free that she found “employment” as an attorney for the county!
In 1973 Sandra became the first woman to be elected majority leader in a state Senate (Arizona). She resigned her seat to take on a position as a judge in 1976. Then in 1981, President Ronald Reagan asked her to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court; she was unanimously confirmed.
On the Court, Sandra was often seen as a “swing vote,” not staying strictly conservative or liberal on issues. She served 24 years on the Supreme Court. She was named 2002 Cowgirl Honoree to the Hall of Fame.
Read more about her and another famous justice (maybe I’ll write about her another day!) in the book on this list. This is an affiliate link; thank you for supporting my writing.