Today in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency in the most divisive election in United States history. Upon his election, many different states in the South would secede from the Union, sparking the Civil War.
Also today in 1893, Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg. He rose to fame for his noteworthy ballets, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. He was also the composer for the popular 1812 Overture. His musical skills, reviled at the time, are much revered today.
