Jane Byrne (born 1934) won the most astounding political upset in Chicago's history when she unseated incumbent Michael A. Bilandic in the 1979 Democratic primary and went on to become the first woman mayor of Chicago.

Born in Chicago on May 24, 1934, Jane Margaret (Burke) Byrne showed little interest in politics until the 1960 presidential election. Raised on the north side of Chicago by her father Edward Burke, who was vice president of Inland Steel, and her mother, Katherine Burke, Byrne attended parochial schools. Upon graduation from Saint Scholastic High School, Byrne enrolled in St. Mary-of-the-Woods in Terre Haute, Indiana. On completion of her freshman year she transferred to Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois. She graduated in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology. Jane married William P. Byrne, a marine aviator, soon afterward. A little more than one year after the birth of their only child on December 31, 1957, William...