This day in history

On this day, students, intellectuals, and workers pour into the streets of Budapest, Hungary, demanding an end to Soviet domination and communist rule.

On 4 November, thousands of Soviet tanks rolled into crush what had become a nationwide revolt. Outraged citizens fought back with little more than their bare hands, but they were hopelessly outmatched. As many as 25,000 Hungarians were killed and many more were wounded or imprisoned. Some 200,000 fled. The reformist premier Imre Nagy was deposed and the Soviets installed a new, pro-Moscow government, led by János Kádár.

The first Apple iPod goes on sale.

In Beirut, Lebanon, 241 U.S. marines and 56 French troops are killed in two separate bombing attacks on their respective headquarters.

The start of the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa.

Chief of the Soviet general staff, Georgi Zhukov, assumes command of Red Army operations in order to try and prevent Germany’s rapid advance into the heart of Russia.

The Kansas Free State forces in America set up a governor and legislature under their Topeka Constitution, a document that outlaws slavery in the territory, in opposition to the fraudulently elected pro-slavery legislature of Kansas.