Today is Friday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2004. There are 14 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2004. There are 14 days left in the year. On this date in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, go on the first successful manned powered-airplane flights, near Kitty Hawk, N.C., using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
In 1777, France recognizes American independence. In 1830, South American patriot Simon Bolivar dies in Colombia. In 1939, the German pocket battleship "Graf Spee" is scuttled by its crew, ending the World War II Battle of the River Plate off Uruguay. In 1944, the U.S. Army announces it is ending its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast. In 1957, the United States successfully test-fires the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. In 1975, Lynette Fromme is sentenced in federal court in Sacramento, Calif., to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Ford. In 1986, Eugene Hasenfus, the American convicted by Nica-ragua for his part in running guns to the Contras, is pardoned, then released.
December 17, 1979: O.J. Simpson bows out of pro football the same way he came in, with class, writes Vindicator Sports Editor Chuck Perazich from Atlanta, where the Atlanta Falcons beat Simpson's San Francisco 49ers, 31-21, in what will be the last game played by "The Juice." Simpson had announced this would be his last season and the Atlanta crowd paid tribute to him by chanting "Juice, Juice, Juice" during a game in which the NFL's second-leading runner tallied only 12 yards.
An agreement designed to save 45 endangered jobs and add 20 more at the General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown is rejected by 69 percent of the skilled tradesmen voting at the plant.
December 17, 1964: The Youngstown Area Chamber of Commerce is planning a dinner for January to welcome General Motors Corp. to the Mahoning Valley. Semon E. Knudson, GM vice president and manager of its Chevrolet Division, will speak.
Dr. James A. MacDonald, 93, pastor emeritus of the John Knox United Presbyterian Church, dies in Richmond, Va. During his ministry, the old South United Presbyterian Church developed a large congregation, which built its new church at Market Street and Delason Avenue in 1917.
December 17, 1954: Sales of the Niles Fire Brick Co. to the J.B. Arthur Fire Brick Co. of Cleveland is confirmed by a deed transfer filed in the Trumbull County Recorder's Office. About 120 persons are employed at Niles Fire Brick, which is the oldest company in the city.
The jury begins deliberations in the murder trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard after a 36-minute charge by Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Blythin. Sheppard is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Marilyn, which carries a death sentence, unless the jury recommends mercy.
December 17, 1929: Police Chief Paul Lyden has selected a police radio system that will provide the city with its own broadcasting station and receiving sets in all police cruisers. The city, which was to hire 12 new patrolmen in 1930, will probably hire only nine, making $5,600 available to purchase the radio equipment.
Cleveland and Cincinnati are known as great centers for music and both cities have proud symphony orchestras, yet Youngstown owns musical instruments and pianos far greater in tax value than those owned in the two bigger cities, an annual report of the Ohio Tax Commission shows.