Reuters historical calendar - December 21

LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on December 21 since 1900: 1913 - The first crossword puzzle appeared in the New York World.

It was compiled by British-born Arthur Wynne.

1937 - Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', the first full-length feature cartoon in colour, premiered in Los Angeles.

1940 - F Scott Fitzgerald, US short story writer and novelist, died. His works included ''The Great Gatsby''.

1945 - General George Patton, US tank commander in World War Two, died after a car accident in Germany. His men called him ''Old Blood and Guts''.

1958 - Charles De Gaulle became first president of France's Fifth Republic, winning 78.5 per cent of the electoral college votes.

1967 - Louis Washkansky, the world's first heart transplant recipient, died 18 days after surgery.

1972 - East and West Germany established diplomatic ties, paving the way for East Germany's international recognition.

1973 - The first peace conference between Israel and her Arab neighbours opened in Geneva. Jordan, Israel, Egypt, the United States, the Soviet Union and the UN took part.

1975 - Guerrillas of the ''Arm of the Arab Revolution'' led by ''Carlos the Jackal'' raided OPEC headquarters in Vienna and took 11 oil ministers and their staff hostage.

1988 - A bomb destroyed a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 people on the ground.

1990 - Albania tore down eastern Europe's last giant statues of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

1993 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin abolished the former KGB security police, saying it was ''incapable of being reformed''.

2005 - British pop star Elton John tied the knot with long-term partner David Furnish, joining hundreds of gay couples across England taking advantage of a new law to formalise their relationships.

REUTERS PB PM1040