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Long beforeSandra Day O’Connorbecame the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, she dated another future justice when she was just 19 years old.
By the time Rehnquist left for the nation’s capital, Day had begun seeing John O’Connor. They quickly bonded while proofreading theStanford Law Review. After they’d been together for only 40 days, Day received a letter from Rehnquist saying he wanted to discuss “important things” with her, and shortly after in another letter he asked, “To be specific, Sandy, will you marry me this summer?”
Thomas found the actual letters as part of the research for his book, NPR reports.
But Day said no, and went on to wed John O’Connor in 1952, whom she remained married to until his death in 2009 from Alzheimer’s disease. Rehnquist started dating Nan Cornell not long after his proposal was rejected and they married in 1953. Thomas told the outlet that Rehnquist said before his 2005 death that Cornell, who died in 1991, was “the only woman he ever loved.”
While Day and Rehnquist’s relationship was public knowledge, apparently his spurned proposal was not . According to NPR, even Day’s son Jay was “surprised” to hear about it, while noting, “Dating was pretty innocent in the ’50s … Multiple men proposed to my mom when she was in college and law school, and ultimately my dad was the one who was the real deal.”
In spite of it all, Day and Rehnquist stayed close friends. In fact, Rehnquist suggested the name Sandra Day O’Connor to then-President Ronald Reagan as a Supreme Court nominee, NPR reports.
“It was just an amazing accident of history that … my mom and her friend and law school classmate ended up on the Supreme Court together,” Jay added.
Last week, O’Connor announced that she was diagnosed with the “beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease,” and that she’s withdrawing from public life due to her condition.
“While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings of my life,” she added.
O’Connor, who was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1981, retired in 2006, in part to take care of her ailing husband, fellow lawyer John O’Connor III, who himself had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
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In her retirement, O’Connor also became an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease, and launched iCivics, a website dedicated to encouraging young people to learn civics.
“It is time for new leaders to make civic learning and civic engagement a reality for all,” she wrote. “I hope that I have inspired young people about civic engagement and helped pave the pathway for women who may have faced obstacles pursuing their careers.”
source: people.com
