The first Hispanic person to serve on the United States Supreme Court was Sonia Sotomayor. She was appointed by President Barack Obama and took office on August 8, 2009. Sotomayor is also the first woman of color to serve on the Supreme Court. She was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents and has had a distinguished judicial career prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, including serving as a federal district judge and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.