On November 4, 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing the staff. They demanded the extradition of the deposed Shah of Iran from the United States, where he was receiving cancer treatment. Iran's revolutionary government, headed by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a conservative Muslim leader, supported the students, calling the embassy "a den of spies."

Female and African-American hostages were released within the first month, and one other hostage was released months later, due to illness. The remaining 52 were held hostage for 444 days. They were finally released on January 20, 1981, the day Jimmy Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan, was inaugurated.

During their long ordeal, the hostages became a national obsession. Revisit four days from the crisis: view news footage and read individual reactions to see how Americans voiced their anger, despair, and faith.

Day 1 | Day 174 | Day 367 | Day 444