Who is Sandra Day O'Connor

'Sandra Day OConnor' (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist and was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. OConnor was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Weisman, Steven R. (July 7, 1981) Reagan Nominating Woman, an Arizona Appeals Judge, to Serve on Supreme Court, The New York Times, Accessed September 10, 2009

Prior to O'Connor's appointment to the Court, she was an elected official and judge in Arizona. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of a successor.Stevenson, R.W. (July 1, 2005) [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/01/politics/01cnd-oconnor.html O'Connor, First Woman Supreme Court Justice, Resigns After 24 Years], The New York Times, Accessed September 10, 2009 President George W. Bush nominated Justice Samuel Alito to take her seat in October 2005 and he joined the Court on January 31, 2006.

O'Connor is Chancellor of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and serves on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 2001, the Ladies Home Journal ranked her as the second-most-powerful woman in America. In 2004 and 2005, Forbes'' magazine listed her as the sixth- and thirty-sixth-most-powerful woman in the world, respectively; the only American women preceding her on the 2004 list were then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, then-U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and then-First Lady Laura Bush. On August 12, 2009, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the United States, by President Barack Obama.