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North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery.
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• On this date:
• In 1862, inventor Richard J. Gatling received a U.S. patent for his rapid-fire Gatling gun.
• In 1884, Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected to his first term as president, defeating Republican James G. Blaine.
• In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt.
• In 1924, Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first female governor to serve out the remaining term of her late husband, William B. Ross.
• In 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.
• In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson. The highly secretive National Security Agency came into existence.
• In 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants; for some, it was the start of 444 days of captivity.
• In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the White House as he defeated President Jimmy Carter by a strong margin.
• In 1987, 6-year-old Elizabeth (Lisa) Steinberg was pronounced dead at a New York City hospital in a child-abuse case that sparked national outrage; her illegal adoptive father, Joel Steinberg, served nearly 17 years behind bars for manslaughter.
• In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif.; in attendance were President George H.W. Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford and Richard Nixon -- the first-ever gathering of five past and present U.S. chief executives.
• In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a festive peace rally.
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• Ten years ago: Firefighters in San Diego County contained the biggest and deadliest of Southern California's wildfires. Following a conservative outcry over a made-for-TV movie about former President Ronald Reagan, CBS scrapped plans to televise "The Reagans," sending it off to the Showtime cable network instead.
• Five years ago: Democrat Barack Obama was elected the first black president

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