Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date

1842

Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, Ill.

1846

The patent for the artificial leg is granted to Benjamin Palmer.

1880

The first cash register was patented by James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio.

1884

Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected to his first term as president, defeating Republican James G. Blaine.

1922

In Egypt, Howard Carter discovered the entry of the lost tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

1924

Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first woman governor; she was to serve the remaining term of William B. Ross, her husband who died in office.

1939

The United States modified its neutrality stance in World War II, allowing ''cash and carry'' purchases of arms by belligerents, a policy favoring Britain and France.

1939

At the 40th National Automobile Show the first air-conditioned car was put on display.

1942

During World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

1952

Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson.

1956

Soviet forces enter Hungary in order to supress the uprising that had begun on October 23, 1956.

1965

Lee Ann Roberts Breedlove became the first woman to exceed 300 mph when she went 308.5 mph.

1970

Former King Peter II of Yugoslavia died in Denver, CO. He was the first European king or queen to die and to be buried in the U.S.

1979

Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 63 Americans hostage (90 total hostages). The militants, mostly students, demanded that the U.S. send the former shah back to Iran to stand trial.

1980

Ronald Reagan won the White House, defeating President Carter by a wide margin.

1981

The second scheduled flight of the space shuttle Columbia was canceled with only 31 seconds left in the countdown.

1984

Nicaragua held its first free elections in 56 years.

1985

Soviet defector Vitaly Yurchenko announced he was returning to the Soviet Union. He had charged that he had been kidnapped by the CIA.

1989

About a million East Germans filled the streets of East Berlin in a pro-democracy rally.

1990

Iraq issued a statement saying it was prepared to fight a "dangerous war" rather than give up Kuwait.

1991

Former President Reagan opened his library in Simi Valley, Calif., with a dedication ceremony attended by President Bush and former presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon.

1991

Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, CA. The dedication ceremony was attended by President Bush and former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford and Richard M. Nixon. It was the 1st gathering of 5 U.S. chief executives.

1995

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 73 years old, was assassinated by right-wing Israeli Yigal Amir after attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

1997

Hundreds of thousands of men attended a Promise Keepers rally at the Mall in Washington, D.C.

1999

Aaron McKinney, who beat gay college student Matthew Shepard and left him to die on the Wyoming prairie, avoided the death penalty by agreeing to serve life in prison without parole and promising never to appeal his conviction.

1999

The United Nations imposed economic sanctions againstAfghanistan because the Taliban refused to turn over Osama bin Laden, who had been charged with masterminding the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

2001

Hurrican Michelle hit Cuba destroying crops and thousands of homes. The United States made the gesture of sending humanitarian aid. On December 16, 2001, Cuba received the first commercial food shipment from the U.S. in nearly 40 years.

2010

Microsoft's Kinect was launched worldwide.