Nominee scored other firsts in business, political careers

Sandra Day O’Connor’s nomination to be the first sister among the brethren of the U.S. Supreme Court is certainly the biggest “first” in the 51-year-0ld jurist’s life. But the Arizona Court of Appeals judge is no novice when it comes to breaking new ground. From becoming the first female director in the 92-year history of the board of the First National Bank of Arizona in 1971 (now First Interstate Bank), to being picked in 1973 to lead the Senate majority in the Legislature, O’Connor has compiled ~’I impressive list of accomplishments. A… Arizona native, Sandra Day was born March 26, 1930, and grew up on her parents’ Lazy-B Ranch in Greenlee County along the New Mexico border. At age 16, she headed for Stanford University, where she received her undergraduate degree in economics and then entered the university’s law college, graduating third in the 1952 graduating class. Top honors that year were taken by William Rehnquist, who went on to practice law in Phoenix and, in 1972, become a Supreme Court justice. O’Connor was a member of the board of editors of the Stanford Law Review and graduated with the Order of the Coif. Stanford Law School Dean Charles Meyers said yesterday that the appointment of O’Connor is “marvelous for the country, for Stanford, and for the law school.” Meyers said O’Connor is “a woman of great ability; tremendous balance and good political understanding.” Emeritus Professor John Hurlbut of the law school said he remembered O’Connor well from his classes