on this DAY

42 BC: Brutus, whose army was crushed by Anthony and Octavian at Philippi, killed himself by falling on his own sword.

1642: The Royalists narrowly beat the Roundheads at Edgehill in the first major battle of the Civil War. Both sides claimed victory. 1707: The first Parliament of Great Britain met.

1844: The “Divine” Sarah, actress Sarah Bernhardt, left, was born in Paris. 1915: The legendary cricketer WG Grace died.

1942: The Second Battle of El Alamein began with a thousand tanks aimed on Italian and German troops.

1950: Al Jolson, US singer who billed himself “the world’s greatest entertainer”, died. He starred in the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer.

1956: The Hungarian uprising against Soviet leadership began in Budapest.

1987: Lester Piggott, former British champion jockey and later a top trainer, was jailed for three years for tax evasion.