By: History.com Editors

1991

Clarence Thomas confirmed to the Supreme Court

History.com Editors

Published: February 09, 2010

Last Updated: January 31, 2025

After a bitter confirmation hearing, the U.S. Senate votes 52 to 48 to confirm Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In July 1991, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, announced his retirement after 34 years. President George Bush nominated Clarence Thomas, a 43-year-old African American judge known for his conservative beliefs, to fill the seat. Thomas had been chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) during the Reagan administration, and in 1990 Bush had appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals. As the confirmation hearings for Thomas’ Supreme Court nomination got underway, he evaded controversy over his conservative views on issues such as abortion by refusing to state a clear political position. He seemed headed for an easy confirmation until Anita Hill, a former aide, stepped forward and accused him of sexual harassment.

Supreme Court

Learn all about how a Supreme Court nominee gets confirmed to the highest authority in the U.S.

Hill, who had served as an aide to Thomas at the Department of Education and the EEOC during the 1980s, alleged that the Supreme Court nominee had repeatedly made sexually offensive comments to her. Beginning on October 11, 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee held four days of televised hearings on Hill’s charges. Americans were shocked by both the frankness of Hill’s testimony and the unsympathetic response of the all-male committee, some of whom were openly antagonistic toward Hill. Thomas, meanwhile, denied the charges, and some witnesses called on his behalf cast doubt on Hill’s character and mental stability. On October 15, the Senate narrowly voted to approve Thomas’ confirmation.

Although the hearings left the Senate and the nation deeply divided, the episode served to foster a greater public awareness of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace. In taking over the seat of the liberal Thurgood Marshall, Thomas contributed significantly to the conservative character of the nation’s highest court in the 1990s and after the turn of the century.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 15th

1796

Editorial subtly accuses Thomas Jefferson of affair with enslaved woman

On October 15, 1796, an essay appears in the Gazette of the United States in which a writer, mysteriously named “Phocion,” attacks presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson. Phocion turned out to be former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The essay typified the nasty, personal nature of political attacks in late 18th-century America.

1863

H.L. Hunley sinks during demonstration

On October 15, 1863, the H.L. Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, sinks during a demo run, killing its inventor and seven crew members.

1880

Chiricahua Apache leader Victorio is killed south of El Paso, Texas

The warrior Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists of all time, dies on October 15, 1880, in the Tres Castillos Mountains south of El Paso, Texas.

1917

Dancer and spy Mata Hari is executed

Dancer, courtesan and alleged spy Mata Hari is executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Vincennes outside of Paris.

Mata Hari Posed in Youthful Glory

1945

Vichy leader executed for treason

Pierre Laval, the puppet leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France, is executed by firing squad for treason against France.

1946

High-ranking Nazi leader Hermann Göring dies

On October 15, 1946, Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, president of the Reichstag, head of the Gestapo, prime minister of Prussia, chief forester of the Reich, chief liquidator of sequestered estates, supreme head of the National Weather Bureau, and Hitler’s designated successor dies by his own hand.

1948

Gerald Ford marries Elizabeth Bloomer

On October 15, 1948, future President Gerald Ford marries Elizabeth Anne (“Betty”) Bloomer.

1948

A murderous husband is executed

Arthur Eggers, who was convicted of killing his wife, Dorothy, because of her alleged promiscuity, is executed at San Quentin Prison. He probably would have gotten away with the crime had the investigators not received a few lucky breaks.

1965

Antiwar demonstrations staged in 40 U.S. cities

On October 15, 1965, antiwar activists stage demonstrations across the country, drawing 100,000 people in some 40 cities. In one event staged by the student-run National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam, the public burning of a draft card leads to the first legal consequences for the act.

1973

Dolly Parton releases hit single “Jolene”

On October 15, 1973—four months before the release of her 13th studio album, “Jolene”—country star Dolly Parton releases the record’s titular song with the memorable refrain “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Joleeeeene.”

1989

Wayne Gretzky breaks NHL points record

On October 15, 1989, Los Angeles King Wayne Gretzky breaks Gordie Howe’s points record (1,850) in the final period of a game against the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky’s record-setting goal tied the game; in overtime he scored another, and the Kings won 5-4.

1990

Mikhail Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending Cold War tensions. Since coming to power in 1985, Gorbachev had undertaken to concentrate more effort and funds on his domestic reform plans by going to extraordinary lengths to reach foreign policy understandings with the noncommunist world.

2004

“Funeral coaches” exempted from car-seat law

On October 15, 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules that hearse manufacturers no longer have to install anchors for child-safety seats in their vehicles. In 1999, to prevent parents from incorrectly installing the seats using only their cars’ seat belts, the agency had required all carmakers to put the standardized anchors on every passenger seat in every vehicle they built. Though it seemed rather odd, most hearse-builders complied with the rule and many thousands of their vehicles incorporated baby-seat latches on their front and back passenger seats.

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Citation Information

Article title
Clarence Thomas confirmed to the Supreme Court
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 22, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 31, 2025
Original Published Date
February 09, 2010

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