Ross, Nellie Tayloe, 1876-1977

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1876-11-29

Death 1977-12-19

Gender:

Female

Nationality: Americans

Language: English

Biographical notes:

Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross (November 29, 1876 – December 19, 1977) was an American politician, the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927 and director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953. She was the first woman to be sworn in as governor of a U.S. state, and remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri she lived in Miltonvale, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska before moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming with her husband, lawyer William Bradford Ross, whom she married in 1902.

After many unsuccessful attempts running for office, William B. Ross was elected governor of Wyoming in 1922 and served from January 1923 to his death in October 1924. Ross succeeded her late husband's successor Frank Lucas as governor when she won the special election in November 1924, becoming the first female American governor on January 5, 1925. She was a staunch supporter of Prohibition during the 1920s. She lost re-election in 1926 but remained an active member of the Democratic Party.

In 1933, Ross became the first female Director of the United States Mint. Despite initial mistrust, she forged a strong bond with Mary Margaret O'Reilly, the Assistant Director of the Mint and one of the United States' highest-ranking female civil servants of her time. 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., at the age of 101.