Was Sandra Day OConnor the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court?
I did some research, and news reports that Ms. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court are clearly incorrect. Sandra Day O’Connor’s mother, Ada Mae Wilkey was born in Mexico in 1904, so she was the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court. According to the Census definition, “Hispanic” means “a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race”. By this definition, Ms. O’Connor is Hispanic since her mother was born a Mexican citizen. I suspect that a complete review of the family backgrounds of the other Supreme Court justices would find several more who have at least one ancestor who meets the definition of Hispanic. Any of the first Anglo settlers to Utah and Texas when those areas were still part of Mexico should meet the definition. So should residents of Louisiana before 1803, when it was part of the Spanish empire. If you have even one Hispanic ancestor, then you should meet the definition of Hi
