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Dianne Feinstein is dead at 90: See photos of her life

San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein stands in the middle of Steiner Street in San Francisco looking tough to illustrate her campaign of “taking a stand” against crime on Aug. 20, 1981. | Source: Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/Getty Images

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein died at age 90 on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said Friday.

Feinstein, who was born and raised in San Francisco, had served in the Senate since 1992. She was a trailblazer, entering the office with a number of other women who advocated for liberal causes. Feinstein was also known for her pragmatism, which could reach across the aisle.

A hallmark of Feinstein’s political career was when she was thrust into the mayor’s office in 1978, when San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were killed at City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Feinstein, who was president of the Board of Supervisors, automatically succeeded Moscone.

Dianne Feinstein speaks during an interview in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 1969. | Source: Joe Rosenthal/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Dianne Feinstein smiles for a photo on Sept. 28, 1971. Feinstein was the first female president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. | Source: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Supervisor Dianne Feinstein campaigns for mayor on Oct. 6, 1971. | Source: Duke Downey/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Board President Dianne Feinstein works at a Board of Supervisors meeting on Oct. 29, 1973. | Source: Stephanie Maze/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Dianne Feinstein poses in a Sutro Baths bathing suit at the opening of Pier 39 in San Francisco on Oct. 4, 1978, after losing a bet that the tourism center would open on time. | Source: Jerry Telfer/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Mayor Dianne Feinstein speaks with stylist Bessie Stafford at United Beauty Salon campaigns on Third Street in the Bayview District at the United Beauty Salon on July 17, 1979. | Source: John O'Hara/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Mayor Dianne Feinstein signs the anti-gun bill at City Hall in 1982. Behind her, left to right, are Con Murphy, Francis McCarty, Richard Hongisto, John Molinari and Cecil Williams. | Source: Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Dianne Feinstein holds a copy of a billboard to be placed in 20 locations throughout San Francisco on Jan. 20, 1983. | Source: Michael Maloney/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, left, greets Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, center, visits San Francisco as First Lady Nancy Reagan, top right, listens in San Francisco on March 2, 1983. | Source: Jerry Telfer/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Mayor Dianne Feinstein, crooner Tony Bennett and Muni General Manager Harold Geissenheimer talk with reporters on Cable Car 58 during a celebration of the reopening of the cable car system in San Francisco on May 2, 1984. | Source: Courtesy Bill Owyang/Market Street Railway
Dianne Feinstein bows her head for a moment of silence in memory of slain Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk before the Board of Supervisors' meeting on the day of the murders on Nov. 27, 1978. | Source: Jerry Telfer/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
A baseball player shakes a woman's hand in a black and white photo baseball field.
Willie Mays says a few words to San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein before the start of the Giants' home opener at Candlestick Park on April 15, 1986. | Source: Michael Maloney/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein adjusts the TV monitor in a private box at Candlestick Park during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in 1990. | Source: Kim Komenich/Getty Images
The Dalai Lama visits San Francisco at Mayor Dianne Feinstein's City Hall office on Sept. 26, 1979. | Source: Gary Fong/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Mayor of San Francisco Dianne Feinstein addresses the Democratic National Convention in New York on Nov. 7, 1992. | Source: Mark Reinstein/Corbis/Getty Images
President Bill Clinton speaks at a Dianne Feinstein fundraiser at the Mark Hopkins. | Source: Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Chinese President Jiang Zemin sings with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in San Francisco on Oct. 28, 2002. | Source: Thomas J. Gibbons/Getty Images
President George W. Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein are briefed by fire officials after touring a neighborhood of destroyed homes in the Rancho Bernardo area on Oct. 25, 2007. | Source: Jay L. Clendenin/Pool/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein delivers her opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee markup hearing in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 6, 2007. | Source: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein greets U.S. President Barack Obama at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on Nov. 25, 2013. | Source: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein appears at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Nov. 10, 2020. | Source: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., listens during the Senate Judiciary Committee mark on Thursday, July 20, 2023. | Source: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., arrives to the senate carriage entrance of the Capitol in Washington DC on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. | Source: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

RJ Mickelson can be reached at rj@sfstandard.com