SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dianne Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman on June 22, 1933, in San Francisco during a time most of the country was ravaged by the Great Depression.
According to the Museum of the City of San Francisco, not a single bank in the city failed and the city even began construction on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge the same year.
Feinstein's father, Leon Goldman, was a prominent surgeon and her mother a retired model.
It was after graduating from Stanford University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history that Feinstein began her political ascent to becoming the longest-tenured female senator in U.S. history.
A City in Transition (1960-78)
According to the LA Times, one of Feinstein's earliest roles was on the California Women's Parole Board in 1961 where she set the actual terms served by women inmates. She was appointed to the role by then-Gov. Pat Brown and served until 1966.
The expansion of urban planning projects and new freeways during the decade helped usher in the so-called Summer of Love counterculture movement San Francisco came to be known for.
Feinstein was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1969, with one of the most infamous moments of her 9-year tenure coming in 1976 when a bomb was placed on the windowsill of her home. The bomb, placed by the New World Liberation Front, ultimately failed to detonate.
In a Washington Post piece published at the time titled 'San Francisco: A City of Violence,' reporters described the attempted assassination as part of "a series of acts of violence unparalleled in recent American history."
Two years later came the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and the city's first openly-gay elected official, Harvey Milk. Feinstein was the one who found Milk's body.
Now San Francisco Board President, a shocked Feinstein became acting mayor in the aftermath of what the San Francisco Examiner described as "a city in agony."
Rising from the Rubble (1978-92)
Even Feinstein's critics credited her with having a calming influence on San Francisco during her time as mayor, according to the Associated Press.
She is credited for helping secure almost $60 million in federal funding as well as private and public contributions to rebuild the city's cable car system.
As her political profile continued to rise not only in California but nationwide, Feinstein became the subject of an unsuccessful recall attempt and finished her second term as mayor in 1988.
She unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1990.
Year of the Woman (1992-2020)
When Pete Wilson resigned from the Senate in 1991 to become governor, Feinstein ran for his seat and won.
Along with Senator Barbara Boxer, Feinstein was elected to the U.S. Congress during the so-called 'Year of the Woman.'
Feinstein was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018.
It was in 1994 that Feinstein was launched further into the national spotlight when she spearheaded the passage of the federal assault weapons ban.
Though the assault weapons ban expired 10 years later and was never renewed or replaced, it was a poignant win after her career had been significantly shaped by gun violence.
According to the Associated Press, her tendency for bipartisanship helped her notch legislative wins throughout her career, but it also proved to be a liability in her later years in Congress as her state became more liberal and as the Senate and the electorate became increasingly polarized.
"I recognize that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right," she told The Associated Press in 2005, as the Judiciary Committee prepared to hold hearings on President George W. Bush's nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. "So I must tell you, I try to look out for women's rights. I also try to solve problems as I perceive them, with legislation, and reaching out where I can, and working across the aisle."
The 2019 film 'The Report' starring Adam Driver and Annette Bening as Dianne Feinstein follows the late senator's investigation into the CIA's use of torture in 2005 after the 9/11 attacks.
Two years later, she surpassed Sacramento icon Hiram Johnson as the longest-serving U.S. senator from California and later became the longest-serving female senator in history.
End of an Era (2020-23)
Reports surfaced in fall 2020 about Feinstein's alleged cognitive decline, though she told the LA Times she planned to finish her term through 2024.
Around the same time, Feinstein stepped down from her position as top Democrat of the Senate Judiciary Committee after facing criticism over the confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Some Democrats wanted Feinstein to be more aggressive in efforts to stop Barrett’s confirmation, according to the Associated Press.
More reports surrounding her cognitive health were covered by articles in The New Yorker and The New York Times with Feinstein stating she would forego serving as U.S. Senate President Pro Tem in 2023.
She later announced she wouldn't be seeking re-election in 2024 and planned to retire.
As speculation surrounding her health and a recent shingles diagnosis continued to echo through the halls of Congress, Senate Committee Chair Dick Durban said Feinstein's absences were slowing down the peoples' work and representatives like Ro Khanna and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged her to step down.
Feinstein returned to the Senate May 10 after suffering from health complications and continued to legislate until her death, Thursday.
Condolences and well wishes poured in from politicians and leaders all over the world for Feinstein as news of her death quickly spread.
