Reuters historical calendar - December 26

London, Dec 25 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on December 26 since 1900: 1906 - The world's first feature film, ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', premiered in Melbourne, Australia.

1908 - American Jack Johnson became the first black boxer to win the world heavyweight title, defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney.

1943 - In World War Two, British warships sank the German battleship, the Scharnhorst, at the Battle of the North Cape.

1972 - Harry S Truman, 33rd US president (1945-53), died.

1989 - Romania's National Salvation Front named Ion Iliescu president, a day after announcing the execution of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

2000 - Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed into law bills restoring the music selected by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin as Russia's national anthem.

2002 - Iran abolished stoning as a form of capital punishment.

2003 - An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 rocked the ancient Silk Road city of Bam in southeastern Iran, killing around 31,000 and levelling up to 70 percent of the city.

2004 - An earthquake measuring 9.15 struck off the west coast of northern Sumatra, unleashing a tsunami that crashed into Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India and left nearly 230,000 people dead with over 43,000 missing.

Reuters DKA GC1057