Today is Friday, Dec. 31, the 366th and final day of 2004. On this date in 1879, Thomas Edison first

Today is Friday, Dec. 31, the 366th and final day of 2004. On this date in 1879, Thomas Edison first publicly demonstrates his electric incandescent light in Menlo Park, N.J.
In 1775, the British repulse an attack by Continental Army Gens. Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery is killed. In 1857, Britain's Queen Victoria decides to make Ottawa the capital of Canada. In 1862, President Lincoln signs an act admitting West Virginia to the Union. In 1877, President and Mrs. Hayes celebrate their silver anniversary (technically, a day late) by re-enacting their wedding ceremony in the White House. In 1946, President Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II. In 1974, private U.S. citizens are allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years. In 1978, Taiwanese diplomats strike their colors for the final time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, marking the end of diplomatic relations with the United States.
December 31, 1979: Youngstown Steel Corp. expects to be producing finished products by March 1 from the spike plant of the former Struthers Works of the Jones & amp; Laughlin Steel Corp.
The first deportation hearings for Iranian students found in violation of their student status have been set by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Cleveland. Eight to 10 students at Youngstown State University have been told they have 30 days to comply with immigration requirements or face deportation.
Time magazine's man of the year is Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who the magazine said "towered malignly over the globe."
December 31, 1964: Gov. James A. Rhodes appoints Appellate Judge George M. Jones of Youngstown to succeed Judge Paul W. Brown of the 7th District Court of Appeals after Judge Brown is sworn in as a member of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Four Americans, including a Columbiana soldier, are feared dead in South Vietnam in the downing of a helicopter during fighting near Binh Nghia. Sgt. Franklin D. Porter of Columbiana is the local man.
December 31, 1954: More Ohioans lost their lives on the state's roads in 1954 than were killed in the entire Korean War. The highway toll was 1,488 for the year, with one day remaining; by comparison, 1,488 Ohioans were killed in the war.
One of the challenges facing Youngstown in 1955 will be how to provide the bare essentials of food, clothing and shelter for the poor because the Community Chest drive fell $35,000 below its goal of $825,000.
Two 20-year-old men, one of them the owner of a gasoline station, are fined $50 by Municipal Court Judge Forrest J. Cavalier after pleading guilty to filing a false police report. The men said they made up the story about the robbery to cover the loss of money at cards.
December 31, 1929: A 4-year-old boy located at the home of an uncle in Bellaire, Ohio, has told police that it was his mother who fired the shot the killed Pennsylvania state policeman Brady Paul near New Castle. He also named two men who were in the car at the time.
Youngstown industry had a prosperous 1929, with steel mills, fabricating and other industries in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys turning out a greater volume of products than at any time in history.
Dr. H.J. Shatto, 86, the oldest practicing physician in Ashtabula County, dies at the home of his son in Colebrook. He had practiced in Colebrook for 54 years.