November 7, 1989: On this day, L. Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, becoming the first elected black governor in US history. He defeated Republican Marshall Coleman by a spread of less than half a percent. The closeness of the margin prompted a recount, which certified Wilder's victory. He served as governor from 1990 to 1994. 

Wilder had previously served as lieutenant governor of Virginia, becoming the first black leader elected to statewide office in the South since Reconstruction.

L. Douglas was named after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.