William B. Ross

William B. Ross
12th Governor of Wyoming
In office January 1, 1923 – October 2, 1924
Preceded by	Robert D. Carey
Succeeded by	Frank Lucas
Personal details
Born	William Bradford Ross (1873-12-04)December 4, 1873 Dover, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	October 2, 1924(1924-10-02) (aged 50) Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Resting place	Lakeview Cemetery, Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Nellie Tayloe ​ (m. 1902)​
Children	3
Parents	Ambrose B. Ross (father) Sue Gray (mother)
Relatives	Nellie Tayloe Sanders (great-granddaughter)
Education	Peabody Normal School

William Bradford Ross (December 4, 1873 – October 2, 1924) was an American politician who served as the 12th governor of Wyoming as a Democrat.

Life

Ross was born in Dover, Tennessee, on December 4, 1873, to Ambrose B. Ross and Sue Gray and later attended the Peabody Normal School. He met Nellie Davis Tayloe while she was visiting her relatives in Dover and after moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1901 they married on September 11, 1902, in Omaha, Nebraska, and later had three children (twins James Ambrose and George Tayloe, Alfred Duff).

From 1906 to 1907 he served as Laramie County's prosecuting attorney and in 1910 he unsuccessfully ran for Wyoming's at-large congressional seat. In 1918 he mounted a primary campaign against incumbent Governor Frank L. Houx, but was defeated. From 1910 to 1922, Ross served on the Wyoming Board of Law Examiners, including terms as the board's president.

Governor

During the 1922 gubernatorial election the Republican Party was divided due to a contentious primary between Robert D. Carey and John W. Hay where Hay won by only 443 votes and by appealing to Carey's voters through his strong prohibition stances allowed him to narrowly defeat Hay by 723 votes. In June 1924 he served as one of Wyoming's delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Death

On September 23, 1924, he gave a speech in favor of a severance tax constitutional amendment in Laramie and while being driven home became sick. It was discovered that he was suffering from phlebitis, but died on October 2, 1924, after suffering complications following an appendectomy that happened on September 25. Secretary of State Frank Lucas served as acting governor until a special election was held where Ross's wife, Nellie Tayloe Ross, won and became the first female governor in the United States.

Electoral history

William B. Ross electoral history

1910 Wyoming at-large Congressional District election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Frank Wheeler Mondell	20,312	54.71%	−2.35%
	Democratic	William B. Ross	14,659	39.48%	+3.16%
	Socialist	J.B. Morgan	2,155	5.81%	−0.81%
Total votes			'37,126'	'100.00%'

1918 Wyoming Gubernatorial Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Frank L. Houx (incumbent)	4,393	56.91%
	Democratic	William B. Ross	3,326	43.09%
Total votes			'7,719'	'100.00%'

1922 Wyoming Gubernatorial Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William B. Ross	6,230	49.56%
	Democratic	George E. Kindler	4,972	39.55%
	Democratic	Frank C. McDowell	1,370	10.90%
Total votes			'12,572'	'100.00%'

1922 Wyoming Gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	William B. Ross	31,110	50.03%	+6.13%
	Republican	John W. Hay	30,387	48.87%	−7.24%
	Independent	Write-ins	687	1.11%	+1.11%
Total votes			'62,184'	'100.00%'