Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming became the first female American governor.
Nellie Tayloe Ross, née Wynns, (born Nov. 29, 1876, St. Joseph, Mo., U.S.—died Dec. 20, 1977, Washington, D.C.), first woman in the United States to serve as governor of a state and the first woman to direct the U.S. mint.
Ross was elected governor of Wyoming in 1924, succeeding her husband, incumbent Democrat William Bradford Ross, who died just prior to the election.