Today in History.................

In 1862..............

North Carolina's own, Richard Gatling received a patent for the multiple barreled repeating firearm which bears his name. The basic design of the Gatling lives on in the main weapon of the A-10 aircraft as well as the various chain guns floating around out there.

In 1922...............

British archeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the Egyptian boy King Tutankhamen. The tomb which had been missed by looters, unlike most tombs was for the most part undisturbed. When Carter peered into the tomb through a small hole he had punched through the door, he was asked what he saw. He could only reply "Wonderful Things!!!" The artifacts that he recovered still delight and amaze the public to this day.

And for you old timers out there, the discovery also helped with the popularity of a young comedian named Steve Martin.....

In 1956...............

Overwhelming numbers of Russian armored vehicles and troops rolled into Hungary to begin crushing the anti-communist uprising that had began on October 23. Fighting continued until November 10 at which time resistance stopped. Over 200,000 Hungarians became refugees before the Soviets sealed the borders leaving their homes, friends and families to live in freedom.

In 1979................

The American Embassy in Tehran, Iran was take over by radical students who were by most accounts, controlled and directed by the Islamic government of Iran. 52 of the staff and diplomats that worked in the embassy were taken hostage and held for 444 days. The Iranians released the hostages almost to the minute that Ronald Reagan assumed the office of President of the United States.