Today in history...

[bol-anon nga cebuano]

* Brutus: committed suicide after losing to Mark Anthony and Octavian in the Second Battle of Philippi, a war fought to avenge the assassination of Julius Caesar (42 BCE).

* War of Jenkins' Ear: British PM Robert Walpole reluctantly declared war on Spain after a ship's captain brought in his ear, pickled, and told the House of Commons it had been severed by the Spanish coast guard (1739).

* Hungarian Revolution: spontaneous protest began, marking the first anti-Soviet revolt; many thousands were killed or fled; the Hungarian Republic was declared exactly 33 years later(1956).

* iPod: digital music player was launched by Apple (2001).

* Moscow Theater Crisis: Chechen terrorists took 700 hostages; many died during a Russian raid the next day (2002).