November 5, 2019: Forty-five (45) years ago today, Ella Grasso was elected Governor of Connecticut. She was the first woman elected governor in her own right. Earlier female governors had been related to a previous male governor.^[1]

That election in 1974 capped a 22-year career in politics where Grasso had served as a state legislator, secretary of state, and a member of Congress. Re-elected in 1978, Governor Grasso was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her second term.^[2]

She passed away in 1981 and posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan.^[2]

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Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

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