On this day in 1973, a student-led uprising in Bangkok forced Thailand's military government from power, the BBC, the Bangkok Post and The Nation report.

Thailand had been under military rule for almost 15 years, The Nation reports. Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn had thrown out the country's constitution in a 1971 coup against his own government, the BBC says.

Anger grew in early October 1973 after 13 pro-democracy campaigners were arrested for calling for a permanent constitution, the BBC reports. On Oct. 9, more than 2,000 protesters gathered at Thammasat University, The Nation says.

About 200,000 people joined a peaceful march on Oct. 13, according to the BBC. The government promised a new constitution within 12 months.

On Oct. 14, the protests turned violent, all three outlets report. Police and troops fired on demonstrators, the BBC says. Most of the dead were students from Thammasat University.

The official death toll was 77, with more than 800 people hurt, all three outlets report.

Thanom resigned that evening, the Bangkok Post and the BBC report. He, his son Narong Kittikachorn and deputy prime minister Praphas Charusathien fled the country, The Nation says.

Sanya Dharmasakti, rector of Thammasat University (spelled Sanya Dhammasak by the BBC), became the new prime minister, the BBC and The Nation report. But the period of democracy ended three years later, with a massacre and coup on Oct. 6, 1976, The Nation says.

A memorial on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok now marks the uprising, the Bangkok Post reports. It was unveiled in 1998, The Nation says.

"If those students and civilians had not risen and begun fighting for real democracy at the time, you and I and every other Thai would not have had the opportunity to have politics the way it is now," House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on the 50th anniversary, the Bangkok Post reported.

What we know: The uprising ended Thanom's rule, with an official toll of 77 dead.
What we don't: Exactly how many people died, which is still unknown.