Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, died on Friday, September 18, 2020, at the age of 87. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court and is widely regarded as one of the greatest jurists in the history of American law. She was a tireless advocate for gender equality and civil rights. She won historical cases before the Supreme Court while an attorney, and wrote landmark opinions as a justice on the Supreme Court.
Ginsburg graduated from Columbia Law School in New York City in 1959. She was a professor of law at Columbia from 1972-1980, becoming Columbia's first tenured female law professor. In 1980, she became a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and in 1993, she was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton.
Attorney Ignacio Cruz Aguigui, B.A. Yale '91, J.D. Columbia '97, was a student at Columbia Law School shortly after Ginsburg's appointment to the Supreme Court. "During those years at Columbia, all the students talked about [Justice Ginsburg]. Her reputation was legendary," he remarked. "Her influence on the law and American societal institutions will be felt for generations to come. She will be greatly missed," Aguigui said.