On  this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the
United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the
popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates: Southern
Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Constitutional Union candidate John Bell,
and Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, a U.S. senator for Illinois.

Lincoln, a Kentucky-born lawyer and former Whig representative to
Congress, first gained national stature during his campaign against
Stephen Douglas of Illinois for a U.S. Senate seat in 1858.

1860 Election Facts:

• Welcome: Minnesota and Oregon become states during this
  election cycle
• Original 13 States control fewer than 50% of total Electoral
  Votes for first time
• Lincoln received only about 40% of the popular vote in a
  divided nation on the brink of Civil War
• New Jersey: Douglas won the popular vote on a Fusion
  slate comprised of 3 of his electors and 2 each for
  Breckinridge and Bell. Apparently – the history is a bit
  murky – some voters received a ballot with seven Douglas
  electors, taking votes from the Breckinridge/Bell electors.
  Bottom line – the 3 Douglas electors on the Fusion slate
  received the most votes, while the most votes for the four
  remaining spots went to Lincoln’s electors.
• Issues of the Day: Slavery (Dred Scott decision, Secession)

TIM MAGUIRE

The first televised debate between presidential candidates Richard
M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy took place in Chicago, IL. on this day         
in 1960.

John F. Kennedy                      Richard  M. Nixon

ED DANAHUE

The American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the
moon’s surface on this day in 1964. It was the first space probe 
of the United States to successfully transmit close images of
the lunar surface back to Earth. It was also the first completely
successful flight of the Ranger program.

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

On this day in 1984 ~

Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale (right) named U.S. Rep.
Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York (left) to be his running mate. Ferraro was
the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket.

Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale turned 91 in January.

Geraldine Anne "Gerry" Ferraro (August 26, 1935 – March 26, 2011)

Henry Ross Perot (June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019)

DALLAS (AP) — H. Ross Perot, the colorful, self-made Texas
billionaire who rose from a childhood of Depression-era
poverty and ran twice for president of the United States as
a third-party candidate, died in Dallas, Texas after a battle
with leukemia.