Dianne Feinstein Becomes Mayor

Date: December 4, 1978 • Location: San Francisco, United States

Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor.

On November 27, 1978, George Moscone, the 37th mayor of San Francisco, and Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, were both shot and killed inside San Francisco City Hall by former supervisor Dan White. On the morning of that day, Moscone intended to announce that the Supervisor position from which White had previously resigned would be given to someone else. White, angered, entered City Hall before the scheduled announcement and first shot Moscone in the Mayor's office, then Milk in White's former office space, before escaping the building. Board of Supervisors president Dianne Feinstein first announced Moscone and Milk's deaths to the media, and because of Moscone's death, succeeded him as acting mayor.