US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an iconic champion of women's rights, has died of cancer at the age of 87, the court said. Ginsburg, the oldest justice and the second ever woman to sit on the Supreme Court, where she served for 27 years, was a legal pioneer advocating gender equality, reports Xinhua news agency. She was appointed in 1993 by then President Bill Clinton and has over the years become the most senior member of the court's liberal wing.

"Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Friday night. "We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her -- a tireless and resolute champion of justice." The vacancy now enables President Donald Trump to tap a replacement -- the third Supreme Court justice nominee during his presidency -- that may swing the bench further to the conservative side.