Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 24, the 24th day of 2007. There are 341 days left in the year. On this date in 1848, James W. Marshall discovers a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that leads to the gold rush of '49.
In 1742, Charles VII is crowned Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1924, the Russian city of Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) is renamed Leningrad in honor of the late revolutionary leader (however, it has since been renamed St. Petersburg). In 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill conclude a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco. In 1965, Churchill dies in London at age 90. In 1972, the Supreme Court strikes down laws that deny welfare benefits to people who have resided in a state for less than a year. In 1978, a nuclear-powered Soviet satellite, Cosmos 954, plunges through Earth's atmosphere and disintegrates, scattering radioactive debris over parts of northern Canada. In 1987, gunmen in Lebanon kidnap educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner and Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh (all are eventually released). In 1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy is put to death in Florida's electric chair.
January 24, 1982: The Southern Park Mall becomes "49er Country" as a pep rally is held for the DeBartolo-owned San Francisco 49ers, who will meet the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. Cheerleaders from Boardman, Cardinal Mooney, Poland Seminary high schools and Youngstown State University participate.
The British company Airship Industries Inc. is said to favor Youngstown's Lansdowne Airport as the site of a dirigible plant.
January 24, 1967: R.B. Kerr, president of Strouss-Hirshberg Co., says two of the company's four Warren retail outlets will continue operations downtown after the company moves into new quarters in the 16 million Eastwood Mall in 1968. The Corner Store at 103 W. Market St. and the Strouss Music Store at 2921 Youngstown Road SE will remain open. Griswolds and the Strouss Appliance Store will move operations to the mall.
President Johnson asks Congress to appropriate 2 million for planning of the Lake Erie-Ohio River Waterway.
Interstate Interchange Development Corp. is planning a 2 million motorist-oriented development in Jackson Township at the future interchange of I-80 and Bailey Road.
January 24, 1957: S. Joseph "Sandy" Naples, convicted numbers racketeer, buys two new Cadillacs for 14,680. One is an Eldorado Biarritz convertible with a list price of 7,654 plus 229 in sales tax. The other was a four-door sedan, for 6,598 and tax of 197.
Walter J. Pacek of New Bedford, Mass. is named assistant executive secretary of the Youngstown Community Chest and Coordinating Council.
January 24, 1932: Youngstown school officials expect the largest enrollment in history in the high schools for the second semester, due to the unemployment condition, which has forced many youths above the age of 16 to stay in school. Ohio law requires youths up to 18 to remain in school or show a work certificate.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, governor of New York, formally enrolls as a candidate for the presidency, entering his name in the North Dakota Democratic primary that will be held March 16.
Three children, Mary Brayman, 16; Joe Kuksan, 14, and John Brozik, 15, report seeing an unidentified elderly man jump from the South Avenue Bridge into the Mahoning River. The children say the man jumped when they were only feet away without saying a word. The river, which is high and running at fast current, carried the body away quickly.