President Ronald Reagan promised during his presidential campaign in 1980 that he would put a woman on the bench of the highest court in the land. He fulfilled his promise with the appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor, which pleased no one: Conservatives seized on her thin legal career (she had a private law practice and served for two years on the Arizona Court of Appeals prior to her nomination), while liberals suspected her position on women’s rights. But whatever leaning O’Connor had were overshadowed by her trademark practicality.

On this day, September 15, in 1981, with a unanimous decision by the Senate, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female on the Supreme Court.

O’Connor did not start out with dreams of practicing law. She majored in economics, in part to help run her parents’ ranch (or possibly starting her own.) Just then, a legal dispute centering on the ranch inspired her to enter law school. O’Connor entered Stanford Law, and graduated third out of a class of 102. Top of that class in 1952 was William H. Rehnquist, future Chief Justice of Supreme Court.