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By Jane Eisner June 28, 2010

I had the privilege of meeting Martin Ginsburg only once. It was in March 2008, and I was directing the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution at the National Constitution Center. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Martin’s illustrious wife, was our keynote guest, and I had the honor of bringing the couple around the Constitution Center’s wonderful permanent exhibit.

He walked slowly, more slowly than she did, and stayed a few steps behind, almost as in deference to a queen. He was kind and unpretentious, and but for the presence of a federal marshal, they looked just like any elderly Jewish couple with a deep interest in the law touring an exhibit devoted to the relevance of the U.S. Constitution.

I thought of that scene last night, when I read that Martin Ginsburg died at 78 years old, after fighting cancer. A stellar legal mind and professor in his own right, he embodies the kind of man that is both rare and noble — a man who, long before it was fashionable, supported the career choices of his wife, no doubt sacrificing his own shot at the limelight along the way.

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When she was appointed to the federal appellate bench, he moved to Washington with her. A self-acknowledged terrible cook, she relinquished kitchen duties to him early on in their 56-year marriage.

Justice Ginsburg has said that without the strong personal and political support of her husband, she might never have become only the second woman — and the first Jewish woman — to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her husband’s take on all this: ”I have been supportive of my wife since the beginning of time, and she has been supportive of me,” he is quoted in the New York Times. “It’s not sacrifice; it’s family.”

As much fuss as we rightly make over the women who push through strong barriers to achieve a role that had been denied their foremothers, let’s not forget the husbands like Martin Ginsburg, whose support and encouragement made a lonely fight into a joint struggle.

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