On Nov. 2, 1948, in one of the most unexpected results in U.S. election history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman won the presidential election against Thomas E. Dewey, the heavily favored Republican governor of New York.

In 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South to be elected president since the Civil War as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.

In 2000, American astronaut Bill Shepherd and two Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, became the first crew to reside onboard the International Space Station; they spent a total of 136 days in the International Space Station before returning to Earth on Space Shuttle Discovery.

In 2004, President George W. Bush was elected to a second term, defeating Sen. John Kerry, and Republicans strengthened their control of Congress.