A century ago, on Jan. 5, 1925, Wyoming made history when Nellie Tayloe Ross was sworn in as its governor — making her the first woman ever elected to the office in the U.S.

Nellie Tayloe Ross had come to Wyoming with her husband, William Bradford Ross, a promising attorney and aspiring democratic politician who rose from Laramie County’s prosecuting attorney to the governor’s office when he won Wyoming’s 1922 gubernatorial race, according to the National Governors Association.

After nearly two years in office, William Bradford Ross died Oct. 2, 1924, from complications following an appendectomy. His wife ultimately took up the helm, winning a special election for the governor’s seat in the fall of 1924.

In the matter of months, Nellie Tayloe Ross went from a wife to a widow and single mom and from a politician’s wife to a politician herself.

Nellie Tayloe Ross served out the rest of her husband’s term, then was defeated for reelection in 1926. She went on to carve out a career as a public speaker and serve as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her as the first female director of the U.S. Mint. She remained in the role for 20 years.

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