Today in History

On Nov. 4, 2008, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the first Black president of the United States, defeating the Republican candidate, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Also on this date:

In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt.

In 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants; for some of the hostages, it was the start of 444 days of captivity.

In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan won election to the White House for the first time as he trounced President Jimmy Carter.

In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, California; attending 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, Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a peace rally.

In 2007, King Tutankhamen’s face was unveiled for the first time to the public more than 3,000 years after the pharaoh was buried in his Egyptian tomb.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Loretta Swit is 87. Blues musician Delbert McClinton is 84. Former first lady Laura Bush is 78. Author Charles Frazier is 74. Actor Ralph Macchio is 63. “Survivor” host Jeff Probst is 63. Actor Matthew McConaughey is 55. TV personality Bethenny Frankel is 54. Football Hall of Famer Orlando Pace is 49. Football Hall of Hamer Devin Hester is 42.