1914 – During World War I, the “Christmas Truce” begins. This was a series of unofficial armistice holidays spread across the Western Front of World War I around Christmas 1914. During this armistice, French, German and British soldiers crossed the trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and conversation.
1922 – Born in Grab-town, Ava Gardner. Gardner, was an American actress and singer. She signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941, and appeared mostly in small roles, until she gained attention with her performance in The Killers. Gardner was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Mogambo and also received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.
1951 – Libya declares its independence from Italy. While Idris I, is declared its King. He would lead the large North African country with liberal reforms until 1968. The year in which Colonel Muammar Gaddafi would finally overthrow him from power. Idrisi would die in 1983 in exile in Turkey. While Gaddafi would be executed after popular revolts in 2011.
1964 – During the Vietnam War, Viet-Cong guerrillas blow up the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam. This terrorist act was done to demonstrate that they could hit an American installation in the capital controlled by them. During this explosion, 2 people were killed, while 65 were injured.
1974 – Cyclone Tracy destroys the city of Darwin, Australia. This storm was the second smallest tropical cyclone on record (in terms of wind diameter), behind Tropical Storm Marco in 2008. This cyclone caused $645 million in infrastructure damage and 71 deaths. Thankfully, Tracy, it didn’t spread to other regions of Australia.
1982 – Dies at the age of 85 in Paris, Louis Aragon. Aragon, was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review Littérature. He was also a novelist and editor, a longtime member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.
2018 – A helicopter crash kills Martha Erika Alonso, the first female governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, the former governor of this city. Alonso had been elected governor for 10 days. The real causes of the accident remained unsolved.
