Dec 15 (Reuters) – Following are some of the major events to have occurred on December 15:
1939 – The film “Gone With the Wind” had its world premiere in Atlanta.
1943 – Fats Waller, U.S. jazz pianist and composer, died. His songs include “Ain’t Misbehavin” and “Honeysuckle Rose”.
1964 – Canada’s parliament adopted a new national flag with a red maple leaf on a white background.
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.
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.
2006 – Swiss-born former Formula One driver Clay Regazzoni was killed in a road accident in Italy. He was 67.
