Harold L. Washington

42nd Mayor of Chicago

Party

• Democrat

Elected

• First term:
  • February 22, 1983 (primary)
    • Defeated Jane Byrne, Richard M. Daley, Sheila Jones, William R. Markowski and Frank R. Ranallo
  • April 12, 1983 (general)
    • Defeated Bernard E. Epton (Republican) and Ed Warren (Socialist Workers)
• Second term:
  • February 24, 1987 (primary)
    • Defeated Jane Byrne and Sheila Jones
  • April 7, 1987 (general)
    • Defeated Donald H. Haider (Republican) and Edward R. Vrdolyak (Illinois Solidarity)

Inaugurations

• First term: April 29, 1983: Inaugural Address
• Second term: May 4, 1987: Inaugural Address

Terms of Office

• First term: 1983–1987
• Second term: 1987 (died in office)

Birth

• April 15, 1922
• Chicago

Personal

• 1942: Married Nancy Dorothy Finch
• 1942: Began serving in the United States Air Force Engineers
• 1949: Graduated from Roosevelt University
• 1952: Graduated from Northwestern University School of Law
• 1965: Elected to the Illinois House of Representatives; served 11 years
• 1977: Served three years in the Illinois State Senate
• 1981: Served two years in U.S. Congress
• 1983: Elected Chicago’s first African American mayor
• At the time of his death, he was engaged to marry Mary Ella Smith

Death

• November 25, 1987
• Chicago

Gravesite

• Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago

Sources

• Chicago Tribune, November 16, 1986, p. H12+.
• Dodge, Andrew R. and Betty K. Koed, editors. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005: The Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundred Eighth Congresses, March 4, 1789, to January 3, 2005, Inclusive. U.S. G.P.O., 2005.
• Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, editors. Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Additional Resources

To find out more about Harold Washington, visit the Harold Washington Archives & Collections in the Special Collections and Preservation Division located in the Harold Washington Library Center.