History's First Mayors

First City Mayor Elected by Popular Vote - Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence in New York, New York on April 8 - 10, 1834.
First Female Mayor - Susanna Medora Salter in Argonia, Kansas on April 4, 1887.
First Female Mayor of a Major City - Patience Sewell Latting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 13, 1971.
First Socialist Mayor of a Major City - Emil Seidel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in April 1910.
First African-American Mayor of a Major City - Carl Burton Stokes in Cleveland, Ohio on November 7, 1967.
First Asian-American Mayor of a Major City - Norman Yoshio Mineta in San Jose, California in 1971.
First Mexican-American Mayor of a Major City - Henry Gabriel Cisneros in San Antonio, Texas on April 4, 1981.
First Korean-American Mayor - Cindy Ryu in Shoreline, Washington in January 2008.

Source

Kane, Joseph Nathan. Famous First Facts. Bronx, New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1997.