Elena Kagan
A sharp legal mind who broke barriers as the first woman to serve as Solicitor General before joining the nation's highest court.
Born 1960 (age 66)·US Supreme Court justice since 2010·Birthday: April 28·Baby Boomers
Biography
Elena Kagan's path to the Supreme Court was unconventional, forged in the halls of academia and the trenches of political law. After clerking for Justice Thurgood Marshall, whose progressive spirit deeply influenced her, she became a law professor and later the first female dean of Harvard Law School, where she was praised for calming faculty wars and expanding the campus. President Barack Obama tapped her as Solicitor General, making her the first woman to hold the role of 'the Tenth Justice,' arguing cases before the very bench she would soon join. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010, Kagan is known for her clear, often colloquial writing and a pragmatic judicial philosophy. She frequently seeks narrow, consensus-driven rulings, though her dissents can be bitingly eloquent when she perceives the Court overreaching.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Elena was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Elena Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Elena's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 40
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 50
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 60
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 66 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Appointed as the 112th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 by President Barack Obama.
- Served as the first woman to hold the position of U.S. Solicitor General (2009-2010).
- Was the first female dean of Harvard Law School, serving from 2003 to 2009.
- Successfully argued as Solicitor General in the landmark Citizens United case, though the Court ultimately ruled against her position.
Did You Know?
She is a dedicated fan of the New York Yankees and the Mets.
While dean at Harvard, she famously installed a squash court in the law school's basement.
She never served as a judge before her appointment to the Supreme Court.
She smoked a cigar with Justice Scalia during a hunting trip, a story she recounted during her confirmation hearings.
“"We should not embrace a jurisprudence of distrust."”
