Highlights from the life of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
O’Connor died in Phoenix, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the Supreme Court said in a news release.
1/23
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VIDEO COURTESY AP
2/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Reagan presents his Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor to members of the press in the White House Rose Garden, July 15, 1981, prior to their Oval Office meeting.3/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Judge Sandra Day O'Connor, smiles as she arrives for the start of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Capitol Hill in Washington for the post of Supreme Court Associate Justice, Sept. 9, 1981. O'Connor, who joined the Supreme Court in 1981 as the nation's first female justice, has died at age 93.4/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor is shown speaking before a Senate hearing on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in a Sept. 9, 1981 file photo.5/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., and Supreme Court nominee Judge Sandra Day O'Connor, talk prior to the start of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Sept. 9, 1981.6/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sandra Day O'Connor waves as she arrives at the Capitol in this Sept. 10, 1981 black-and-white file photo, shortly after her nomination to the Supreme Court was confirmed by the Senate. From left, Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., Attorney General William French Smith, O'Connor, Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and Sen. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.7/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor smiles during her appearance, Sept. 11, 1981, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. .8/23
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THE WHITE HOUSE VIA AP
In this photo released by the White House, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female justice of the Supreme Court, is sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the court's conference room in Washington, Sept. 25, 1981. Justice O'Connor's husband John holds two family Bibles.9/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor poses with Chief Justice Warren Burger after her swearing in at the Supreme Court in Washington, Sept. 25, 1981.10/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor poses for photos on the steps of the Supreme Court before being sworn in with her family on Sept. 26, 1981. From left are: Justice O'Connor's father, Harry Day; her husband, John J. O'Connor; her mother, Ada Mae Day; O'Connor; Chief Justice Warren Burger; and her sons, Brian, Jay and Scott.11/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor poses for a photo in 1982.12/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher poses with U.S. Chief Justice Warren Burger, and U.S. Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O'Connor, prior to talks at 10 Downing Street in London, July 25, 1984.13/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, left, speaks with actress Polly Bergen at a National Women's Forum dinner in Washington, Oct. 3, 1985. Justice O'Connor was inducted as the first member of the NWF's "Women's Hall of Fame."14/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the newest member of the Supreme Court, and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, are shown on April 15, 1988, in Washington, at the Supreme Court during a picture taking session.15/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associate Justice David Souter signs documents of office at the Supreme Court after being sworn in as the newest member of the high court in Washington, Oct. 9, 1990. From left: Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Associate Justices Antonin Scalia; Sandra Day O'Connor; Thurgood Marshall; Anthony Kennedy; Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens.16/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Nov. 9, 1990, file photo U.S. Supreme Court justices pose for a group portrait at the court in Washington. Clockwise from top left are Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, David Souter, John Paul Stevens, Thurgood Marshall, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist.17/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associate Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O' Connor and Anthony Kennedy chat as the entire court has their portrait taken on Nov. 10, 1994, in Washington.18/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is shown before administering the oath of office to members of the Texas Supreme Court, Jan. 6, 2003, in Austin, Texas.19/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor listens to remarks by President Bush and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after she administered the oath of office to Gonzales during an installation ceremony at the Justice Department in Washington, Feb. 14, 2005.20/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor hold up a copy of the U.S. constitution that she carries with her Saturday, Sept. 17, 2005 at an open-air Immigration and Naturalization citizenship hearing in Gilbert, Ariz.21/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Barack Obama presents the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Sandra Day O'Connor, Aug. 12, 2009.22/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this April 11, 2012, file photo, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaks during a forum to celebrate the 30th anniversary of O'Connor's appointment to the Supreme Court, at the Newseum in Washington.23/23
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former U.S. Supreme court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, right, a former state Senate majority leader, is honored in the Arizona Senate chamber in Phoenix, Ariz., by the current majority leader, state Sen. Kimberly Yee, in this in this March 15, 2017 photo.
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