| On this date in: |
| 1889 |
Montana became the 41st state. |
| 1892 |
Former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms in the White House. |
| 1923 |
Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt to seize power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany. |
| 1960 |
Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon in the presidential election.
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| AP Photo |
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| 1966 |
Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. |
| 1971 |
The album “Led Zeppelin IV,” which included the song “Stairway to Heaven,” was released. |
| 1972 |
The premium cable TV network HBO (Home Box Office) made its debut with a showing of the movie “Sometimes a Great Notion.” |
| 1987 |
A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain’s war dead, killing 11 people. |
| 1988 |
Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, beating Democrat Michael Dukakis. |
| 1994 |
Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. |
| 1997 |
Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. |
| 2000 |
A statewide recount of presidential election ballots began in Florida. |
| 2004 |
Thousands of U.S. troops attacked strongholds of Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq. |
| 2010 |
An engine fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left nearly 4,500 aboard without electricity during a three-day tow to San Diego. |
| 2010 |
Talk show host Conan O’Brien made his debut on TBS. |
