Ruth Bader Ginsburg Age at Death and Background
Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 on September 18, 2020, in Washington, D.C. She was born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, and spent her early career navigating systemic gender barriers in law and academia Forbes.
Her professional path included graduating top of her class at Columbia Law School, teaching at Rutgers and Columbia, and cofounding the ACLU Women's Rights Project before joining the federal bench New York Times.
Key Career Milestones and Supreme Court Tenure
President Bill Clinton nominated Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, making her the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court. She held that seat for 27 years, authoring influential majority and dissenting opinions on gender equality, voting rights, and civil liberties Supreme Court of the United States.
Notable Cases and Legal Legacy
Ginsburg's jurisprudence shaped major decisions on workplace discrimination, reproductive rights, and marriage equality, including United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges. Her strategic litigation approach in the 1970s set precedents that advanced equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment ACLU.
Public Perception, Health, and End-of-Life Context
Ginsburg became a cultural icon known as "The Notorious RBG," with her image and rulings widely discussed in media, law schools, and popular culture. She publicly shared her health challenges, including earlier cancer diagnoses, and continued working on the bench until her final days CourtListener.
Succession and Institutional Impact
Her death created a Supreme Court vacancy that was filled by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2022, altering the court's ideological balance and prompting intense public debate about judicial appointments, ethics, and the role of the federal judiciary in U.S. governance.