
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, has died. She was 93. In 2018, she announced that she had been diagnosed with “the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.” O’Connor’s nomination in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and subsequent confirmation by the Senate ended 191 years of male exclusivity on the high court. She was an unwavering voice of moderate conservativism on the court and wielded considerable political clout. She retired in 2006 and was replaced by Samuel Alito. The court says she died in Phoenix on Friday, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.