(CNN) 鈥� Since the Supreme Court first convened in 1790,听听Of those, 108 have been White men.
But in recent decades the court has become more diverse.听听of its appointed听justices since 1990 have been women or minorities.
The two most recently appointed justices were women, and one a woman of color. Ketanji Brown Jackson, previously a federal appeals court judge, in 2022听听on the high court. She succeeded听Stephen Breyer, who is White.
And Amy Coney Barrett, also previously a federal appeals court judge, was chosen by Donald Trump to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg,听听in 2020.
Here鈥檚 how the demographics of the nation鈥檚 highest court have stacked up since its beginning.
Four have been people of color
Only three African American justices,听,听and听听have served on the court.
The first appointment 鈥� when Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Marshall 鈥� was in 1967. When Johnson听, he said he thought it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.
Thomas鈥檚 appointment happened decades later, in 1991 under George H.W.听Bush.
Jackson became the court鈥檚 third Black justice in 2022 after being nominated by Joe Biden.
Sonia Sotomayor is the first and only Hispanic justice in history. (Some say Justice Benjamin Cardozo, who was Portuguese,听, but he doesn鈥檛 qualify under current Census standards.) She was nominated by Barack Obama in 2009.
No justices so far have identified as Asian, Native American or Pacific Islander.
And no women or people of color have听served as chief justices of the nation鈥檚 highest court.
Six have been women
Of the 116 justices in history, 110 鈥� or 94.8% 鈥� have been men. Until 1981, every Supreme Court justice was male. But Ronald Reagan promised he鈥檇 put a woman on the court, and during his first year in office听听by appointing Sandra Day O鈥機onnor.
Before that, presidents had appointed women to lower courts. While Harry Truman, who was president from 1945-1953,听听to the high court, sitting justices at the time said women 鈥渨ould inhibit their conference deliberations.鈥�
Bill Clinton made the second appointment of a woman to the high court by nominating Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993.
And Barack Obama appointed two women, the aforementioned Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, whom he appointed in 2010.
Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett and Jackson all sit on the current court.
Eight have been Jewish
At its founding, the court was made up almost entirely of Protestant members, and a majority of the 116 justices throughout history have been Protestants.
The court today is more diverse.听There are currently six Catholic justices, not including听Neil Gorsuch 鈥� nominated by Trump in 2017 鈥斕齱ho听was raised Catholic but听has more recently听.
The US has never had a Jewish president, but eight Jewish justices have sat on the bench, including Kagan who currently sits on the bench.
There has never been a Muslim or Hindu听justice on the Supreme Court.
Ivy League graduates dominate in recent decades
While the educational law background of many Supreme Court justices鈥� has varied in past centuries, modern history has been less so.听Of the听60 justices confirmed between 1902 and 2022, 15 graduated from Harvard, seven听from Yale and four from Columbia law schools.
On today鈥檚 court, all but one 鈥� Barrett, who attended Notre Dame Law School 鈥� hail from Yale or Harvard. The听four Yale graduates are Brett Kavanaugh, Sotomayor, Thomas and Samuel Alito, and the four Harvard graduates are Gorsuch, Kagan, Jackson and Chief Justice John Roberts.
Since Oliver听Wendell听Holmes鈥� appointment in 1902, the听听has听maintained听at least one Harvard law graduate, and it has usually had multiple graduates.
Yale Law School did not have a graduate on the court until Potter Stewart鈥檚 confirmation in 1958.
Why diversity matters
The Supreme Court has ruled on a diverse set of topics and sees a wide array of cases.
It鈥檚 laid out听听that affect many segments of the nation鈥檚 population, like whether schools should be segregated, whether women can get abortions and if public accommodations can refuse services听
The court has heard cases that none of its members can directly relate to. Obergefell v. Hodges, which, was decided by nine justices, none of whom have identified as gay. No past or present justices have publicly identified themselves as anything other than straight.
In 2016, Sotomayor said the court could use more diversity.
鈥淎 different perspective can permit you to more fully understand the arguments that are before you and help you articulate your position in a way that everyone will understand,鈥� she said.
This is an updated version of a story that was听first published in 2018 and updated in 2022.
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