Also Within this year in history

After a Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, launching World War I. Other nations began to choose sides in the conflict, but the U.S. remained initially neutral. In Central America, the Panama Canal opened after 11 years of construction and the loss of more than 25,000 workers’ lives. On Christmas Eve 1914, British and German soldiers paused their fighting for unofficial Christmas Truce, sharing carols and even a soccer game.

Aug24
Les Etats-Unis Dans La Guerre; Le Caporal Americain Alan Seeger

'Les Etats-Unis dans la guerre; Le caporal americain Alan Seeger, de la legion étrangere, tombé au champ d'honneur, le 4 juillet 1916, au debut de la bataille de la Somme, a l'attaque de Belloy-en Santerre', (1917). USA: First World War - American (war poet and) corporal in the French Foreign Legion, who was killed at the start of the Battle of the Somme on 4 July 1916. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 1" [L'Illustration, Paris, 1924]. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Getty Images
Dec25
1914 Christmas Truce

On Dec. 25, 1914, five months into World War I, British and German troops on the Western Front stopped fighting in a spontaneous ceasefire, soldiers from opposing nations put their weapons aside to enjoy carols and a game of soccer together. Our Picture Shows British officers from Northumberland Hussars meeting their German counterparts in no mans¿ land of the Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector of the Western Front during the Christmas truce of 1914. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Mirrorpix via Getty Images

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