Today is Thursday, June 26, the 177th day of 2003. There are 188 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Thursday, June 26, the 177th day of 2003. There are 188 days left in the year. On this date in 1963, President Kennedy visits West Berlin, where he makes his famous declaration: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).
In 1870, the first section of the Atlantic City, N.J., Boardwalk is opened to the public. In 1900, a commission that includes Dr. Walter Reed begins the fight against the deadly disease yellow fever. In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrive in France during World War I. In 1925, Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy, "The Gold Rush," premieres at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. In 1945, the charter of the United Nations is signed by 50 countries in San Francisco. In 1948, the Berlin Airlift begins in earnest after the Soviet Union cuts off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin. In 1959, President Eisenhower joins Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. In 1968, U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren announces his intention to resign. In 1977, 42 people are killed when a fire sends toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn. In 1987, Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. announces his retirement, leaving a vacancy that is filled by Anthony M. Kennedy.
June 26, 1978: Creation of the Cushwa Institute for Industrial Development to improve economic opportunity in the Mahoning Valley and to promote job creation through the use of Youngstown State University's technical, professional and academic expertise is announced. The institute is made possible by a $250,000 endowment from Mrs. Charles B. Cushwa Jr.
The Youngstown Cartage Co., a major Youngstown-based steel-hauling concern, orders $7.6 million worth of new rolling stock, says William F. Wolff Jr., company president.
William C. Trimbur, 79, former Trumbull County auditor, dies in Trumbull Memorial Hospital after a long illness. He served as auditor for 28 years, retiring in 1970.
June 26, 1963: A fire at the Ohio Edison Co.'s Belmont Ave. substation results in widespread power disruption on Youngstown's North Side and the Downtown area. Traffic lights at some of the city's busiest intersections were out creating serious problems.
John Richard Russell, 58, who had been serving a life sentence in Mississippi, is rewarded with a pardon after donating a lung in an historic medical procedure. Doctors say Russell's transplanted lung is functioning satisfactorily in the donor.
Dr. Robert V.C. Carr, a dentist, is installed as president of the South Side Lion's Club.
Youngstown Mayor Harry Savasten reacts to a gloomy report on city income tax receipts by ordering department heads to cut all but absolutely necessary purchases.
June 26, 1953: The expensive new wonder metal, titanium, will be made cheaper and better by a new smelting process developed by the Mallory-Sharon Titanium Corp. at Niles.
Dr. Milton E. Hayes, 85, one of the city's oldest practicing physicians and Mahoning County coroner for 14 years from 1920 to 1935 , dies in South Side Hospital, where he had been a patient for 10 days.
Patrick J. Sullivan, a Democrat, is appointed Niles city auditor by Mayor Edward P. Lenney to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Homer Thomas, a Republican.
June 26, 1928: Work on the Mineral Ridge dam of Meander Creek is expected to start before the end of the month with a crew of about 20 workmen. About 200 are expected to be at work by September. The Mahoning Valley Sanitary Water District office has been besieged by men seeking work.
Mahoning County commissioners approve application of Coitsville Township residents to the city of Youngstown, adding about six square miles and 12,000 residents to the city.
Miss Louise Fordyce of Youngstown, former Ohio woman golf champion, defeats Mrs. Norman Torge of Long Island in the eighth annual tournament of the Buffalo, New York, Country Club.