Grasso, Ella Tambussi (1919-1981), served as governor of Connecticut from 1975 to 1980. She was the first woman elected governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband in the office.
Grasso was born on May 10, 1919, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Her parents were Italian immigrants. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1940 and received a master’s degree from Mount Holyoke in 1942. During World War II (1939-1945), Grasso held the position of assistant director of research for the War Manpower Commission of Connecticut.
Grasso, a Democrat, was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1952 and served there until 1959. In 1955, she became the Democratic floor leader in the state legislature. The floor leader directs debates on legislation. Grasso was the first woman to hold that position. From 1959 to 1970, she served as Connecticut secretary of state. Grasso was floor leader at the Connecticut Constitutional Convention in 1965.
Grasso won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970. She was reelected in 1972 and served until she became governor of Connecticut. She resigned as governor in 1980 because of illness. She died on Feb. 5, 1981.
