Today in History - December 24 | The blood-soaked Western Front falls silent
Soldiers and officers along the Western Front during World War I put down their guns on December 24, 1914, to observe an unofficial "Christmas truce".
Soldiers along parts of the front held joint celebrations, even exchanging gifts and carolling.
The event was also marked by prisoner swaps and joint efforts to bury the dead in No Man's Land.
Air France Airbus A300 flight AF8969 was hijacked by armed militants at the Algiers Houari Boumedienne Airport on December 24, 1994.
The Armed Islamic Group of Algeria flew the plane to Marseille, where elite French counter-terrorism operatives stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
The militants killed three passengers during the ordeal.
A panicked stampede sparked by a false cry of "Fire" saw 73 people killed at a Christmas party in Michigan, US, on December 24, 1913.
The party was largely attended by striking mine workers and their families, in the Italian Hall in Calumet.
Of the dead, 59 were children.
Despite rumours the call of "fire" had been made by an anti-unionist, a hurried inquest initially did not pinpoint a cause of death.
The Citizens' Alliance, an anti-union group that had opposed the miners strike, was implicated by union members.
French Admiral Francois Darlan was assassinated in Algeria on December 24, 29142.
Darlan was a high-ranking member of the Vichy government - the collaborating regime set up over Nazi-occupied France.
Darlan's killer, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, shot the naval officer to death in his headquarters in Algiers.
Chapelle was an anti-Vichyist and an Orleanist - somebody who supported the restoration of the French monarchy.
Just 20 when he killed Darlan, he did not long survive him, and was executed on December 26.
Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin on the evening of December 24, 1974.
The small but powerful tropical cyclone killed 66 people and injured hundreds more before dissipating.
Darwin was left largely destroyed by the storm, with the damage estimated to be equivalent to billions of dollars in today's money.
The rebuilding process took months, with many survivors left with nothing but the clothes on their back.
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