The 2024 election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump featured an attempted assassination, numerous controversies and discussions about a “little secret.”

But it's not the first U.S. presidential race to be full of surprises, passion and danger – especially as the contest reaches its climax on election night.

Things have changed over America's two centuries of elections – the rise of television in the 1960s is thought to have brought victory to John F. Kennedy, while recent campaigns have been dominated by it Accusations of misinformation are circulating on social media.

But no matter the medium used, the selection of the most powerful person on the planet is never far from drama. And there's an added level of excitement on election night as television networks compete to be the first to pick a winner.

Here are some of the most shocking, significant and downright crazy things that have happened on US election night over the years…

The first choice

Let's start in 1788. Cars didn't exist yet – and neither did most states.

Only 13 states (only six of which allowed suffrage) made up the United States of America, and there was no election campaign in the same form as there is now.

Nevertheless, the legendary General George Washington, who had led American forces to victory over the British in the Revolutionary War, was elected the first president. It may seem anathema now, but the decision was unanimous.

At his inauguration, Washington said he had reported for duty “in obedience to the public call” and said “the voice of my country has called me.”

Washington was re-elected to the highest office in 1792, by which time two more states had joined the Union.

Election night… live from prison

There was a lot of discussion about whether Donald Trump He would have to run in the 2024 election from behind bars – that never happened – but in 1920 a candidate actually ran his campaign from prison.

Socialist Eugene Debs received just under a million votes and came third overall, despite being imprisoned under the Espionage Act for opposing conscription for World War I.

On election night, supporters gathered outside the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary hoping to hear Debs speak. They held pictures of Debs and wore “Prisoner 9653” campaign buttons.

There was no speech, but the director allowed Debs to make a written statement thanking “the capitalist masters” for keeping him there. He added: “They know where I belong in their criminal and corrupt system. That’s the only compliment you can give me.”

The winner of that election – President Warren G. Harding – finally ordered Debs' release from prison on Christmas Day 1921.

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JFK vs. Nixon

The way we consume news has changed massively in recent years, with more and more people finding out what's happening via TikTok and other social media.

But in the mid-20th century, it was television that brought about a sea change in the way people approached politics – and arguably helped John F. Kennedy win the 1960 election.

His contest against the more experienced Richard Nixon marked the first time that the presidential debates were broadcast live in American homes. When the two met on television, it was noted that JFK looked and spoke to the cameras better than his opponent.

The hard-fought election campaign remained fierce until election night, and US news organizations' varying descriptions of the result painted a bleaker picture. Shortly before midnight, The New York Times reported that JFK had won, but NBC News – based on new computer technology – did not announce the race until 7 a.m. the next morning.

It wasn't until midday the following day that the nation's official results were known: JFK won by just 112,000 votes in a contest in which nearly 69 million people cast their votes.

The Infamous Florida Tale

In the United Kingdom, the winner of a general election is generally known the next day. And while it's common in the US to take a few days to know who the next president will be, in the 2000 election it took weeks.

Yes, it's the infamous Florida election recount. The Sunshine State and its 25 Electoral College votes were expected to decide the contest between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, whose brother was governor of Florida.

On election night November 7, television networks called the state for Gore before polls closed across the state. Later that evening they changed their tune and said it was too close to call, then called it for Bush, then went back to “too close to call.”

A preliminary vote count the day after the election showed Bush with a lead of about 1,700 votes in Florida – so narrow that state law triggered an automatic machine recount. The first recount reduced Bush's lead to just 317 votes.

The issue centered on Florida's punched ballots and hanging slips – punched ballots that may still have a corner intact – and how they were counted.

A legal battle ensued that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided in a 5-4 decision along ideological lines that no solution to the recount issue could be found within the deadline, handing the state to Bush.

Barack Obama's iconic victory speech

History was made on election night 2008 when Barack Obama was declared the winner based on his campaign on the themes of hope and change. He won more than 50% of the vote and became America's first black president.

In his hometown of Chicago, Obama gave a speech in Grant Park on election night to over 200,000 people, including Oprah Winfrey and politician Jesse Jackson. It was seen online by millions of people around the world.

“It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, a change has come to America,” he told his supporters, echoing remarks once made by the Civil rights hero Martin had made Luther King.

In the speech that moved Winfrey and others in the audience to tears, Obama also found time to praise his daughters, who he said “deserve the new puppy coming to the White House with us.”

Donald Trump accuses “fraud”.

In perhaps the most dramatic US election night ever, Donald Trump falsely claimed he had defeated President Joe Biden in 2020.

In a speech that many US networks refused to broadcast in full, Trump claimed without evidence that the election had been stolen by the Democrats.

“This is a betrayal of the American public. This is an embarrassment for our country,” he said on election night. “We were preparing to win this election. Honestly, we won this election.”

He brought the lawsuit even though a number of key states, including Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, had not been called.

In the weeks after the election, before the transfer of power, his team mounted a series of unsuccessful legal challenges, and on January 6, 2021, a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol in violent scenes.

With Trump vying for the presidency again this week, the question is what could happen this evening if he loses to Kamala Harris.