She became a staunch courtroom advocate for the fair treatment of women and working with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project.

She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1980 and appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a U.S. Supreme Court justice, the second woman to be appointed to the position.

Ginsburg was born Joan Ruth Bader on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York.

Ginsburg's mother, who was a major influence in her life, taught her the value of independence and a good education.

Ginsburg earned her bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University in 1954, finishing first in her class.

A very male-dominated, hostile environment at Havard, with only eight other females in her class of more than 500. But Ginsburg pressed on and excelled academically, eventually becoming the first female member of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

1980 - President Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Until appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by President Clinton, selected to fill the seat vacated by Justice Byron White.