Jane Byrne

Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933 – November 14, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 50th mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April 29, 1983. Prior to her tenure as mayor, Byrne served as Chicago's commissioner of consumer sales from 1969 until 1977, the only female in the mayoral cabinet.

Byrne won the 1979 Chicago mayoral election on April 3, 1979, becoming the first female mayor of the city, and causing an upheaval in beating the city's political machine. She was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States, as Chicago was the second largest city in the United States at the time. She lost her bid for reelection in the Democratic primary of the 1983 Chicago mayoral election.