November 29, 1876 – Birth of Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross – 1st Woman Governor of a U.S. State

Nellie Davis Tyloe was born on this day in 1876 in Missouri. In 1902, she married William B. Ross, who went on to serve as governor of Wyoming from 1923 until his death on October 2, 1924. On January 5, 1925, Nellie Ross won a special election to succeed her husband, becoming the first female American governor. As governor she continued her late husband’s policies, which called for tax cuts, government assistance for poor farmers, banking reform, and laws protecting children, women workers, and miners. She was also a staunch advocate of prohibition laws.

Nellie Tayloe Ross

Ross ran for re-election in 1926, but was narrowly defeated. Nevertheless, she remained active in the Democratic Party. At the 1928 Democratic National Convention, she received 31 votes from ten states for vice president on the first ballot. She also gave a speech seconding Smith’s nomination. After the convention, she served as vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee and as director of the DNC Women’s Division.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Ross as director of the U.S. Mint on May 3, 1933, making her the first woman to hold that position.

Ross served five terms as Director, retiring in 1953. During her later years, she wrote for various women’s magazines and traveled. Ross died in Washington, D.C. in 1977, at the age of 101.