[IMGCAP(1)]Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced an end to her 24-year tenure to the high court July 1. The first woman appointed to serve on the Supreme Court, O’Connor is shown here at the birthday party of another person who made history in Washington: Sen. Strom Thurmond, who at 100 became the oldest person to serve in the Senate. O’Connor is shown here with Thurmond’s wife, Nancy Thurmond, at the Senator’s 91st birthday party in 1993.