ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY.

ON THIS DAY in 1789, the first presidential election in the United States was held. For the most part the vote went smoothly, although a polling station in Alexandria reported that one Gen. George Washington flew into a rage when he was told that, owing to a peculiar compromise adopted by the Constitutional Convention, he would not be allowed to vote for himself, but only for an “elector” who might be persuaded to vote for him at a future date.