On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party was elected president of the United States as he defeated John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas.

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In 1861, an unopposed Jefferson Davis was elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederate States of America, after serving much of the year as its provisional president.

In 1888, Republican presidential candidate Benjamin Harrison won the electoral vote over incumbent Democrat Grover Cleveland, despite Cleveland gaining 90,000 more total votes; it would be the last time the popular vote winner would lose the election until 2000.

In 1947, “Meet the Press,” the longest-running television show in America, made its debut on NBC; the host was the show’s co-creator, Ma

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