Today is Friday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2003. There are 75 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2003. There are 75 days left in the year. On this date in 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrender to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
In 1919, the Radio Corporation of America is created. In 1931, mobster Al Capone is convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is released in 1939. In 1933, Albert Einstein arrives in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In 1941, the U.S. destroyer Kearney is torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Iceland; 11 people die. In 1945, Col. Juan Peron stages a coup, becoming absolute ruler of Argentina. In 1973, Arab oil-producing nations announce they would begin cutting back on oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result is a total embargo that lasts until March 1974.
October 17, 1978: Youngstown Bishop James W. Malone says he was completely surprised and extremely pleased by the election of a Polish cardinal, Karol Wojtyla, as pope of the Roman Catholic Church. The Rev. Leon Dobosiewicz of St. Joseph the Provider Church in Campbell recalls meeting Cardinal Wojtyla at the 26th Eucharistic Congress of Polish Bishops in Buffalo in 1976.
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts speaks to a large crowd at the Campbell Memorial Fieldhouse as part of a campaign trip to the Mahoning Valley in support of the re-election of U.S. Rep. Charles J. Carney and the election of Richard Celeste as governor.
October 17, 1963: Sixty-four windows in 27 vacant stores in downtown Youngstown will be washed by members of the Youngstown Junior Chamber of Commerce as part of Jaycee Clean-Up, Fix-Up Day.
Common Pleas Judge Erskine Maiden Jr. orders that a local option question appear on the November ballot in Austintown which will allow township voters to determine whether the township should be "wet" or "dry."
Advertisement: Mahoning Valley Sinclair gasoline dealers announce their annual Pumpkin Jamboree. Thousands of free pumpkins are being given to customers at Sinclair's seven area service stations.
October 17, 1953: An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier Leyte in the South Boston naval shipyard kills 36 sailors and airmen and injures 40 others. Two Youngstown sailors known to be on the ship, Seaman James Coates, 22, of Struthers, and John Kalivas, 25, of Youngstown, were uninjured.
John K. Shepherd, a West Alexander, Pa., truck driver who was wounded while sleeping in his truck near Lisbon, Ohio, identifies John Wesley Wable as his assailant. Wable in being held in Greensburg, Pa., accused of the fatal shooting of two truckers on the Pennsylvania turnpike.
The 1953 Community Chest campaign is entering a crucial period that will decide its success or failure, says Atty. David E. Jones. Only $128,033 is reported at the third campaign meeting, bringing the total pledged to $485,959, far short of the $785,000 goal.
October 17, 1928: Harold Naylor, former supervisor of maintenance at the Youngstown waterworks, who was dismissed six weeks ago with Water Commissioner A.J. Aubrey, is reinstated as a meter reader. Three of the four fired by Mayor Joseph Heffernan have returned to work; only Aubrey remains fired.
The first meeting of the drive to raise $400,00 for construction of a new First Presbyterian Church reports that $288,564 has been pledged by 296 members of the church. Nearly 200 members are yet to be heard from.
The dirigible Graf Zeppelin lands in Lakehurst, N.J., but the crew of 40 and its 20 passengers aren't talking about their transatlantic journey. All signed a secrecy agreement that prohibits them from discussing details for the flight for eight days with any reporters other than those of the New York Tribune company.