Martha W. Griffiths
| Martha Griffiths | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 59th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan | |
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In office January 1, 1983 – January 1, 1991 |
|
| Governor | James Blanchard |
| Preceded by | James Brickley |
| Succeeded by | Connie Binsfeld |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 17th district |
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In office January 3, 1955 – December 31, 1974 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Oakman |
| Succeeded by | William Brodhead |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 29, 1912 Pierce City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 2003 (aged 91) Armada, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Hicks Griffiths |
| Education |
University of Missouri, Columbia (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (LLB) |
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 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 "instrumental" in 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 had been 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 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 George Griffiths (b. 1910), a lawyer and a judge as well as chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party from 1949–1950.
She worked as a lawyer in private practice, then in the legal department of the American Automobile Insurance Co. in Detroit from 1941–1942 and then as the Ordnance District contract negotiator from 1942-1946. She was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, serving from 1949 to 1953 for the Wayne County 1st district. In 1953, she was appointed as recorder and judge of the Recorder's Court in Detroit and sat as judge from 1953–1954-- the first woman to do so.
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