Reuters historical calendar - March 22

London Mar 21 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on March 22 in history: 1917 - The United States became the first country to recognise the provisional government of Russia after the fall of the monarchy.

1935 - The first High Definition Television service was inaugurated in Berlin by the director-general of German broadcasting.

1945 - The Arab League was formed in Cairo by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

1979 - Irish militants shot dead Britain's ambassador to the Netherlands, Sir Richard Sykes, in The Hague.

1983 - Chaim Herzog, the Labour party candidate, was elected president of Israel.

2001 - The U S expelled four diplomats and officials and said 46 more would have to leave by July 1, in a move to trim Russia's spy network. The next day Russia told the U S to withdraw 50 diplomats.

2002 - After a five-year government-commissioned study, a panel of nine historians concluded Switzerland had shirked its moral responsibilities to victims of Nazis.

2004 - Israeli helicopters killed top Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in a missile strike in Gaza City.

2005 - Arab leaders agreed to relaunch a West Asia peace initiative offering Israel normal relations in return for withdrawal to its 1967 borders.

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