1956
Hungarian Revolution begins
On this day, students, intellectuals, and workers pour into the streets of Budapest, Hungary, demanding an end to Soviet domination and communist rule. On November 4, thousands of Soviet tanks rolled in to 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 ... Read more >
1983
Beirut barracks blown up
A suicide bomber drives a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. That same morning, 58 French soldiers were killed in their barracks two miles away in a separate suicide terrorist attack. The U.S. Marines were part of a multinational force sent to Lebanon in August 1982 to oversee the Palestinian withdrawal from Lebanon. From i... Read more >
2002
Chechen rebels take hostages in Moscow theatre
On 23 October 2002, about 50 Chechen rebels storm a Moscow theatre, taking up to 700 people hostage during a sold-out performance of a popular musical. The second act of the musical "Nord Ost" was just beginning at the Moscow Ball-Bearing Plant's Palace of Culture when an armed man walked onstage and fired a machine gun into the air. The terrorists – including a number of women with explosive... Read more >
2016
The Smurfs Debut
Getting Smurfed in the Smurf
It’s rare that a misunderstanding over the word ‘salt’ can lead to a globally dominating multimedia entertainment conglomerate. But that is exactly what happened when Belgian comic artist Peyo mistakenly asked his friend to pass the ‘schtroumpf’ and they started to spend the whole weekend referring to everything as ‘schtroumpf’ ... Read more >