Ella T. Grasso

A Representative from Connecticut. Born Ella Rose Tambussi in Windsor Locks, Hartford County, Conn. , May 10, 1919. Attended the St. Mary's School in Windsor Locks, and the Chaffee School in Windsor. B. A. , Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass. , 1940. M. A. , Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass. , 1942. During the Second World War served as assistant director of research for the War Manpower Commission of Connecticut. Member of the Connecticut state house of representatives, 1953-1957, and became first woman to be elected floor leader, 1955. Secretary of State of Connecticut, 1958, and reelected, 1962, 1966. First woman chairman, Democratic State Platform Committee, 1956-1968. Member, Platform Drafting Committee, 1960, Democratic National Convention. Co-chairman, Resolutions Committee, Democratic National Conventions, 1964, 1968. Elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second and Ninety-third Congresses (January 3, 1971-January 3, 1975). Was not a candidate for reelection to the Ninety-fourth Congress, but was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1974. Governor of Connecticut, 1975-1980. Reelected in 1978. Resigned due to a physical disability, December 31, 1980. Died on February 5, 1981, in Hartford, Conn. Interment in St. Mary's Cemetery, Windsor Locks, Conn. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan, 1981.