WASHINGTON--Elena Kagan was confirmed for the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon with a Senate 63-37 vote, with an assist from five Republicans. She is making history: Kagan will be only the fourth female in the history of the nation to join the highest court in the land.

Kagan, a former University of Chicago law school professor, becomes the third female sitting on the current court and the 112th person to serve on the Supreme Court. This is the first time one-third of the court is comprised of women. Kagan will serve with Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Obama appointed Sotomayor last year. Kagan will replace retired Justice John Paul Stevens, a Chicago native.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) gaveled the vote to a close at 3:49 p.m. eastern time, declaring "the nomination is confirmed." Click here for the roll call vote.

Illinois Democratic Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris voted for Kagan.

The only Democrat to vote against Kagan was Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).

Five Republican senators voted for Kagan: Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Durbin said in a statement, ""Today's confirmation of Elana Kagan to the Supreme Court is an historic achievement. For the first time in our nation's history, three women are serving together on the highest court in the land."

"Ms. Kagan is a remarkable lawyer who has worked in private practice, clerked for Illinois' own Judge Abner Mikva and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, served as a Senate staff member and worked in the Executive Branch. She has also blazed a trail for women in America - not only as the first woman to serve as Dean of the Harvard Law School but also as the first woman to serve as our nation's Solicitor General. I'm proud to have supported her nomination."

The other female justices:

Sonia Sotomayor
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sandra Day O'Connor, retired.