In the United States presidential election of 1880, held on November 2, Republican James A. Garfield was elected over Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock. Garfield was an Ohio Congressman; Hancock was a Pennsylvania- born career army officer. Both were Civil War generals, as was a third candidate, Iowa Congressman James B. Weaver, nominated by the left-wing Greenback Party in a challenge to the dominance of the two major parties. In a campaign fought mainly over issues of Civil War loyalties, tariffs, and Chinese immigration, Garfield and Hancock each took just over 48 percent of the popular vote. Weaver and two other candidates made up the remainder. The voter turnout percentage was among the highest in the nation's history. In the end, the two main candidates' popular vote totals were separated by fewer than 2,000 votes, the smallest US presidential popular vote margin ever recorded. Garfield's victory was decisive in the electoral college, as he won nearly all the populous Northern states for a 214 to 155 victory.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1880

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

644:

Umar, the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death, was fatally stabbed by Piruz Nahavandi, a Persian slave. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar

1812:

French invasion of Russia: As Napoleon's Grande Armée began its retreat, its rear guard was defeated at the Battle of Vyazma. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vyazma

1935:

Almost 98% of the reported votes in a Greek plebiscite supported the restoration of George II as King of the Hellenes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_II_of_Greece

1957:

The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 2 spacecraft, carrying Laika (pictured on stamp) the Russian space dog as the first living creature from Earth to enter orbit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika

1979:

Five members of the U.S. Communist Workers' Party were shot and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party while in a protest in Greensboro, North Carolina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

prograde: 1. (astronomy) Describing motion in a forward direction, especially with respect to other bodies in the same system. 2. (geology) Describing a metamorphic change resulting from a higher pressure or temperature. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prograde

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Democracy has to be judged not just by the institutions that formally exist but by the extent to which different voices from diverse sections of the people can actually be heard.   --Amartya Sen https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amartya_Sen