Abraham Ribicoff

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Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American Democratic politician from Connecticut who served in the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and as the state’s governor, as well as the secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Born in New Britain, Connecticut, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland, Ribicoff grew up working class and valued education. He studied at New York University and the University of Chicago Law School, earning an LLB cum laude in 1933. After becoming a lawyer, he entered politics, serving in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1938–1942) and as a judge on the Hartford Police Court (1941–1943, 1945–1947).

Ribicoff was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1948 and served from 1949 to 1953. He then won the governor’s office in Connecticut, serving as the 80th governor from 1955 to 1961. As governor, he guided flood relief efforts, expanded education and welfare programs, and supported empowering local governments.

When John F. Kennedy became president, Ribicoff joined his cabinet as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1961 to 1962. He worked on reforms to the nation’s social programs, but Medicare did not pass during his tenure, and he found the department difficult to manage.

Ribicoff was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962 and served from 1963 to 1981. He initially supported Lyndon Johnson but later opposed the Vietnam War. In the Senate, he helped create the Highway Safety Act of 1966 with Ralph Nader, leading to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He also focused on school integration, welfare, tax reform, and consumer protection, and he chaired the Senate Government Operations and later Governmental Affairs committees.

Personal life and later years: Ribicoff married Ruth Siegel in 1931, and they had two children; Ruth died in 1972. He married Lois “Casey” Mell Mathes later that year. He faced personal tragedies when his relatives were victims of violence abroad. He announced his retirement in 1979 and left the Senate in 1981 to work as a special counsel in New York. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years and died in 1998 in New York City. He is buried in Cornwall, Connecticut, and is remembered as Connecticut’s first and only Jewish governor.