Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 6th district
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1975
Preceded by
Thomas Meskill
Succeeded by
Toby Moffett
64th Secretary of the State of Connecticut
In office January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1971
Governor
Abraham Ribicoff John Dempsey
Preceded by
Mildred P. Allen
Succeeded by
Gloria Schaffer
Personal details
Born
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Tambussi
(1919-05-10)May 10, 1919 Windsor Locks, Connecticut, U.S.
Died
February 5, 1981(1981-02-05) (aged 61) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting place
St. Mary's Cemetery, Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Political party
Democratic (before 1942, after 1951)
Other political affiliations
Republican (1942–1951)
Spouse
Thomas Grasso
(m. 1942)
Children
2
Parents
James Giacomo Tambussi (father)
Maria Oliva (mother)
Education
Mount Holyoke College (BA, MA)
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd Governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after rejecting past offers of candidacies for Senate and Governor. She was the first woman elected to this office and the first woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state without having been the spouse or widow of a former governor. She resigned as governor due to her battle with ovarian cancer.
Grasso started in politics as a member of the League of Women Voters and Democratic speechwriter. She was first elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1952 and later became the first female Floor Leader in 1955. She was then elected as Secretary of the State of Connecticut in 1958 and served until 1971. Grasso went on to serve two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1970 to 1974. Then she was elected Governor in 1974 and re-elected in 1978.
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso (née Tambussi; May 10, 1919 – February 5, 1981) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served...
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researcher Domenico Grasso (born 1955), American engineer and educator EllaGrasso (1919–1981), American politician Francis Grasso (1949–2001), American...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
Professor of Law, a post she held from 1975 to 1978, when Governor Ella Tambussi Grasso appointed Peters to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Peters was the...
Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (/zəˈhɑːriəs/; née Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf,...
Dempsey Democratic nominee for Governor of Connecticut 1970 Succeeded by EllaGrasso U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Edwin H. May, Jr. Member of the U...
of Connecticut. Rell was Connecticut's second female governor, after EllaGrasso. She did not seek re-election in 2010 and left office in January 2011...
November 5, 1974. Democratic nominee EllaGrasso defeated Republican nominee Robert H. Steele with 58.35% of the vote. Grasso thus became the first woman to...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
O'Neill had assumed the governor's office in 1980 after EllaGrasso resigned due to poor health. Grasso died just weeks later on February 5, 1981. Governor...
Tuesday November 7, to elect Governor of Connecticut, Incumbent Governor EllaGrasso and running mate William A. O'Neill defeated Republican candidate Ronald...
operations in Waterford. In 1974, Connecticut elected Democratic Governor Ella T. Grasso, who became the first woman in any state to be elected governor without...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
Seymour Day Fidelia Fielding Charlotte Perkins Gilman Dorothy Goodwin EllaGrasso Estelle Griswold Mary Hall Alice Hamilton Katharine Hepburn Katharine...
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