Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, and the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Michigan as a member of the Democratic Party. She was also the person most responsible for including the prohibition of sex discr...
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Martha Wright Griffiths (January 29, 1912 – April 22 2003) was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, and the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Michigan as a member of the Democratic Party. She was also the person most responsible for including the prohibition of sex discrimination under Title VII in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1982, Griffiths was also the first female elected as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. Matilda Dodge Wilson was appointed the first female Lieutenant Governor of Michigan in 1939.
Martha Edna Wright was born in Pierce City, Missouri. She attended public schools, and went on to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Missouri–Columbia in 1934. She choose to continue her education by studying law, and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1940. She married Hicks...
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