Today is Saturday, Dec. 11, the 346th day of 2004. There are 20 days left in the year. On this date in 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicates the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis

Today is Saturday, Dec. 11, the 346th day of 2004. There are 20 days left in the year. On this date in 1936, Britain's King Edward VIII abdicates the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.
In 1816, Indiana becomes the 19th state. In 1872, America's first black governor takes office as Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback becomes acting governor of Louisiana. In 1928, police in Buenos Aires thwart an attempt on the life of President-elect Herbert Hoover. In 1937, Italy withdraws from the League of Nations. In 1941, Germany and Italy declare war on the United States; the U.S. responds in kind. In 1946, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established. In 1981, the U.N. Security Council chooses Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru to be the fifth secretary-general of the world body. In 1991, a jury in West Palm Beach, Fla., acquits William Kennedy Smith of sexual assault and battery, rejecting the allegations of Patricia Bowman. In 1997, more than 150 countries agree at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. In 1998, the Mars Climate Orbiter blasts off on a nine-month journey to the red planet (however, the probe disappears in September 1999, apparently destroyed).
December 11, 1979: U.S. Rep. Lyle Williams, R-19th, announces in Pittsburgh that he and United Steelworkers officials plan to file suit seeking to force the U.S. Steel Corp. to keep 13 plants open.
The Trumbull County Fair Board is considering filing an action in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in an effort to resolve its financial problems and allow the board to continue operations.
A demonstration on the campus of Youngstown State University calling for the Shah of Iran to be returned to Iran begins peacefully, but almost erupts into a brawl when other students begin shouting "traitor" at the demonstrators. Meanwhile 50 Americans continue to be held hostage in Tehran, with the crisis at the embassy entering its fifth week.
December 11, 1964: James P. Griffin, director of District 26, United Steelworkers of America, will be chairman of the union's U.S. Steel Corp. negotiating committee.
Mrs. W.H. Kilcawley turns the first shovel of dirt for the $1.5 million William H. and Mattie M. Kilcawley Student Center at Youngstown University. The center is the first major project in a planned $20 million expansion of the campus.
Families in Boardman's Applewood Acres development can look forward to swimming, tennis, shuffleboard and volleyball in a new $100,000, five-acre recreation area that will be built within the development.
December 11, 1954: More than 600 persons capture the Christmas spirit, singing carols on Central Square as Mayor Frank X. Kryzan lights the Christmas tree. The theme of the program was "Keep Christ in Christmas."
John Lisko III, 8, a third grade student at Holy Name School, drowns in about 6 feet of water in an overflow pit from a culvert on N. Belle Vista Avenue near Concord Avenue.
Three Ohio State University coeds will be featured at the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1. They are Judith Mayer of New York, homecoming queen; Barbara Koch of Ramsay, N.J., the May queen, and Barbara Quinlan of Alliance, this year's Miss Ohio.
December 11, 1929: Mrs. James A. Campbell is the guest of honor at a surprise birthday luncheon given by the board of the Women's City Club. Mrs. J.D. Waddell, representing the board, presents Mrs. Campbell with a jade brooch in a setting of pearls.
Mrs. Katie Herman, 46, of Caldwell Street, is charged with contributing to the delinquency of her 14-year-old son by allowing him to drive an automobile.
Youngstown Police Chief Paul Lyden announces that members of the police department will contribute to a trust fund to pay $50 a month to Mrs. John P. McLaughlin, whose husband was killed by a police car.
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