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BREAKING NEWS: Barack Obama Elected President
Tuesday November 4, 2008

Barack Obama
Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally November 3, 2008 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

After defeating John McCain in Virginia, Ohio, Iowa and Florida and leading in Electoral College votes, Barack Obama made history Tuesday night by becoming the nation's first black president.

"Change has come to America," he told an estimated 125,000 supporters who cheered him on in Grant Park in Chicago, his hometown. "The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America -- I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you -- we as a people will get there."

The 47-year-old senator from Illinois (who is married to wife of 16 years, Michelle, and has two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7) swept through traditionally Democratic states in the East and Midwest, as well as Virginia, Ohio, Iowa and Florida. (Obama's victory in Ohio was particularly telling: No Republican has ever won the presidency without it.) He also lead in Electoral College votes.

"The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," a disappointed McCain told supporters as they booed in Arizona.

Along with his running mate Joe Biden, Obama will be sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on Jan. 20, 2009.

Check of Barack Obama's family album.

On June 4, Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination, beating Sen. Hillary Clinton in a tight primary race, thanks to support from a slew of celebs, including Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck, Diddy and Scarlett Johansson.

Look back at Barack Obama's biggest celeb supporters.

He first catapulted to the national stage in 2004, delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

Obama -- who was born in Hawaii -- is the son of a white mother and Kenyan father. He returned to Kenya when he was 2.

He was raised by his mother and her family, including his beloved grandmother, "Toot," who died one day before he was elected president.

He graduated from Columbia University, went to Harvard Law School and became the first African American president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, where he sits on several committees, including Foreign Relations, Homeland Security and Veterans' Affairs.

See the most unforgettable moments from this year's election.

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