Harold Washington
American politician, former Mayor of the city of Chicago (1922—1987)
Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American politician and lawyer who was the 51st mayor of Chicago from 1983 until his death in 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first Black person to hold the office.
Entering politics as a critic of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley, Washington served in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. He was subsequently elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980 and was reelected in 1982. He ran for Mayor of Chicago in the 1983 election. During the Democratic primary, he defeated incumbent mayor Jane Byrne and State's Attorney Richard M. Daley, son of the late mayor. Many members of the city's ethnic white Democratic political machine backed his Republican opponent, Bernard Epton, in the general election. However, Washington prevailed, winning the close race.
Washington's first term as mayor was dominated by a racially polarized political conflict dubbed the Council Wars. A 29-alderman majority on the Chicago City Council, led by Edward Vrdolyak and Edward Burke, battled Washington and effectively blocked his agenda.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Harold Washington” is american politician, former Mayor of the city of Chicago (1922—1987). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Harold, Washington and American, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american politician, former Mayor of the city of Chicago (1922—1987)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q295584. VIAF identifies the subject as 74685803. The Library of Congress control number is n83205716. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1922, 1987, 1983 and 1980.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Harold Washington” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.