Reuters historical calendar - December 15

London, Dec 14 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on December 15 since 1900: 1939 - The film ''Gone With the Wind'' had its world premiere in Atlanta.

1943 - Fats Waller, US jazz pianist and composer, died.

His songs include ''Ain't Misbehavin'' and ''Honeysuckle Rose''.

1961 - Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi SS colonel in World War Two, was sentenced to death in Jerusalem for organising the deportation of Jews to concentration camps.

1962 - Charles Laughton, British-born actor, died. Best known for the films ''Ruggles of Red Gap'', ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and ''The Private Life of Henry VIII''.

1964 - Canada's parliament adopted a new national flag with a red maple leaf on a white background.

1965 - The US spacecraft Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 made the first space rendezvous, flying side by side for two orbits.

1966 - Walt Disney, American animator who created Mickey Mouse, died.

1973 - J. Paul Getty III was found in southern Italy after being kidnapped for five months, during which his right ear was cut off and sent to a Rome newspaper.

1978 - US President Jimmy Carter announced he would establish diplomatic relations with China from Jan. 1, 1979, and break off relations with Taiwan.

1991 - The Egyptian ferry Salem Express hit a coral reef outside the port of Safaga 375 miles (600 km) southeast of Cairo, killing 474 people.

1995 - European Union leaders christened their new single currency the euro.

1996 - Sir Laurens van der Post, the South African-born writer whose book ''The Lost World of the Kalahari'' became a bestseller, died.

1999 - Venezuelans voted for a new constitution, endorsing President Hugo Chavez's plans to overhaul the political and economic system.

2000 - Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma ordered the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power station, site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986.

2001 - Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa opened to the public for the first time in almost 12 years after massive efforts to reduce its tilt.

2001 - Wrapping up a two-day summit, the 15 EU leaders agreed on a political convention to chart the course of the union, adopting the Laeken Declaration on the Future of Europe.

2001 - Rufus Thomas, versatile soul icon, pioneering radio DJ and a singer/songwriter famed for the R&B standard ''Walking The Dog'', died. He was 84.

2002 - Voters flocked to polling stations in the self-declared republic of Somaliland to vote for local government officials in the first democratic elections for 35 years.

2003 - Bhutan launched its biggest military offensive against an estimated 3,000 Indian rebels who set up camps in its remote southern jungles about 12 years ago.

2004 - The first test of a planned multibillion-dollar US anti-missile shield in nearly two years failed, with the interceptor missile shutting down on its launch pad.

2005 - Iraqis voted to elect the first full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

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