Courtesy of Wikipedia
Birdie Amsterdam (March 25, 1901 – July 8, 1996) was an attorney and judge in New York City, who became the first woman to serve as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court.
Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan into a first generation Jewish American family, Amsterdam attended Hunter College High School, studied for one year at the City College of New York, and then attended New York University School of Law. Amsterdam attended law school at night while working as a record-keeper at Mount Sinai Hospital. According to her New York Times obituary, “She swiftly established a reputation not only as a skillful lawyer but also as an eloquent friend of the downtrodden, a champion of women’s rights and a diligent [Democratic] party worker.”
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Tomorrow, March 26: Erica Jong