The first time in U.S. history that a woman was nominated to the nation’s highest court was in 1981, when President Ronald Reagan nominated former Arizona State Senator Sandra Day O’Connor to replace retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Potter Stewart. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 99 to 0 on September 21, 1981, Justice O’Connor served on the Court from September 25, 1981 until her retirement on January 31, 2006.