Factbox: Historic firsts on the diversifying U.S. Supreme Court
Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 28, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool/File Photo
President Joe Biden on Friday is poised to name federal appeals court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making good on his pledge to name a Black woman to the nation’s top judicial body, which would be a historic first.
A total of 115 justices have served on the Supreme Court in the nation’s history, including 17 as chief justice.
Here is a look at some of the trailblazing justices.
1916: FIRST JEWISH JUSTICE
Justice Louis Brandeis was appointed in 1916 by Democratic President Woodrow Wilson and served until 1939. There have been eight Jewish justices in total.
1967: FIRST BLACK JUSTICE
Justice Thurgood Marshall, appointed by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in 1967, had previously worked as a influential civil rights lawyer. He served until 1991, when he was replaced by the only other Black justice to have been appointed, Justice Clarence Thomas, an appointee of Republican President George H.W. Bush.
1981: FIRST WOMAN JUSTICE
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, served from 1981 until her retirement in 2006. A total of five women have served as justices.
1993: FIRST FEMALE JEWISH JUSTICE
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993 and died while in office in 2020. The second Jewish woman on the court is Justice Elena Kagan, who is still serving.
2009: FIRST HISPANIC JUSTICE
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2009 and still serving, is the only Hispanic Supreme Court justice to date.
2022: Biden set to nominate Jackson as the court’s first Black woman.
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