Sandra Day O'Connor was born on March 26, 1930, in El Paso, Texas. The oldest of three daughters of Harry and Ada Mae Day, she was raised on the family ranch in southeastern Arizona. Educational opportunities in the area were limited, so O'Connor was sent to live with her maternal grandmother in El Paso. There, she attended a private school for girls before studying at Austin High School. After graduating in 1946, she studied economics at Stanford University in Stanford, California. After taking a law course in her senior year, O'Connor entered Stanford Law School in 1950, graduating third in her class two years later. While at Stanford, she met John Jay O'Connor III, whom she married soon after graduation.

Although qualified as a lawyer, O'Connor had difficulty finding a job. She worked as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, California, while waiting for her husband to...