On This Date American History Blogmanac Honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Birthday: A Life of Equality, Persistence, and Judicial Legacy

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born on  this date March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, to Nathan and Celia Bader, the daughter of Jewish immigrants who instilled in her a deep respect for education, discipline, and the quiet power of persistence. Her mother, who had been denied her own chance at higher education to support her brother’s schooling, became the defining influence of Ginsburg’s early life. Celia died the day before Ruth’s high school graduation, but her example shaped the values that would guide Ginsburg’s entire career.

Ginsburg attended Cornell University, graduating first in her class in 1954. She married Martin Ginsburg, a fellow Cornell student whose unwavering support and intellectual partnership became a cornerstone of her life. When Martin was drafted into the Army, Ruth followed him to Oklahoma, where she worked for the Social Security Administration—an early encounter with workplace discrimination when she was demoted after becoming pregnant.

After Martin’s service, the couple enrolled at Harvard Law School, where Ruth was one of only nine women in a class of more than 500. She famously balanced her studies with caring for their infant daughter and helping Martin complete his coursework while he battled cancer. When Martin recovered and accepted a job in New York, Ruth transferred to Columbia Law School, graduating first in her class in 1959. Despite her academic excellence, she faced widespread gender discrimination in hiring, a barrier she would later dismantle for others.

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

Ginsburg began her legal career in academia, becoming a professor at Rutgers and later Columbia, where she became the school’s first tenured female law professor. Her most influential work came through the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, which she co‑founded. In the 1970s, she argued six landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, winning five. Her strategy was methodical and brilliant: she selected cases that revealed gender discrimination as harmful not only to women but to men as well, persuading an all‑male Court to view equality through a broader constitutional lens.

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”

In 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she became the second woman ever to serve. Her judicial philosophy emphasized incremental change, careful reasoning, and the protection of individual rights. Though known for her measured tone, she became equally famous for her powerful dissents, which she viewed as blueprints for future generations. Her dissent in Ledbetter v. Goodyear helped inspire the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

Culturally, Ginsburg became an unexpected icon. Nicknamed the “Notorious RBG,” she inspired books, documentaries, memes, and a wave of civic engagement among younger Americans. Her disciplined daily workouts, lace jabots, and sharp wit became part of her public persona, but it was her lifelong devotion to equality, her improbable rise from the margins, and her unshakable work ethic that defined her legacy.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the Court until her death in 2020, leaving behind a jurisprudential record that reshaped American law and a cultural legacy that continues to inspire.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes the court oath from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, right, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Ginsburg’s husband Martin holds the Bible and President Bill Clinton watches at left.