January 5 - The First Woman Governor in the U.S.!

Posted on January 5, 2021

This is an update from the January 5th post in 2010:

On this date in 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman to be governor of any state in the U.S.

Key points

She was elected to the position of Wyoming’s governor after her husband William Ross, who had been governor, died. She continued his policies and served in office for two years, and she was only narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate at the next regularly-scheduled election. (She had refused to campaign for herself, which may have caused her to lose the race.)

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Ross as the first female director of the mint, which makes the nation’s money. She served five full terms of office until her retirement at age 77 (WOW!).

Even after retirement, Ross stayed active, writing and traveling extensively. She lived to be 101 years old. (Double WOW!!)

If you live in the U.S., has your state ever had a female governor? It will not surprise you to know that most state governorships have been held by men, but 30 out of the 50 states has had at least one woman governor. Has your state? How can you find out?

Learn more about Nellie Tayloe Ross here.

Wyoming was, not just the first state with a “lady governor,” but also the first state to allow women to vote—even before it WAS a state! In 1869, the territory of Wyoming voted to grant women suffrage (which means the right to vote). In 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the Union—thus becoming the first state with women’s suffrage.

In 1920, the U.S. Constitution was amended, giving all women in the nation the right to vote—and at that point, women in Wyoming had already been voting for half a century!

That’s why Wyoming’s official nickname is “Equality State,” and its official motto is “Equal rights.”