Today is Wednesday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2008. There are 14 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 17, the 352nd day of 2008. There are 14 days left in the year. On this date in 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio, conduct the first successful manned powered-airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C., using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.

In 1777, France recognizes American independence. In 1925, Col. William “Billy” Mitchell is convicted at his court-martial of insubordination for accusing senior military officials of incompetence and criminal negligence; he is suspended from active duty. In 1933, in the inaugural NFL championship football game, the Chicago Bears defeat the New York Giants, 23-21, at Wrigley Field. In 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral 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 Sacramento, Calif., to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. In 1981, members of the Red Brigades kidnap Brig. Gen. James L. Dozier, the highest-ranking U.S. Army official in southern Europe, from his home in Verona, Italy. (Dozier is rescued 42 days later.)

December 17, 1983: A 75-year-old woman who frequently cares for her 16-month-old grandson faces eviction from the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Amedia Plaza because the building manager says caring for the child violates the woman’s lease.

Dr. Charles M. Paros, a Canfield optometrist, is installed as lieutenant governor of Kiwanis International’s 25th division of Ohio. He has been a member of the Girard-Liberty Kiwanis Club for 20 years.

The Planning and Supervision Commission established to restore financial solvency to Campbell will hire a professional accounting firm to draw up a recovery plan for the city.

December 17, 1968: McKelvey’s offer to lease 8,500 square feet in the Parkade at 220 W. Federal St. to the Mahoning County Welfare Department at $4.75 per foot for seven years is recommended to county commissioners by the Mahoning County Welfare Advisory Board.

Gov. James A. Rhodes appoints Robert M. Duncan, a Columbus Municipal Court judge, to the Ohio Supreme Court. He will be the first Negro to serve on the state’s high court.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Sidney Rigelhaupt says Youngstown’s two deputy police chiefs, Carmen Bruno and Thomas Baker, were appointed illegally and must be removed. The jobs should be filled through Civil Service, Rigelhaupt rules.

December 17, 1958: Four new top echelon officials of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. will take on new duties as vice presidents after being elected by the board of directors. They are Robert P. Bremner, Donald S. Day, Karl L. Fetters and James D. Sloan.

Twenty people in Mahoning County Jail facing felony charges, including four men charged with rape and kidnapping, could save themselves up to 16 months in prison by reaching plea agreements before Jan. 1, when new minimum sentences approved by the Pardon and Parole Commission go into effect.

More than 60 players from the Lutheran Day Center in Wick Park present their annual Christmas pageant for members of the Friendly Writers Club at the Wick Park Center.

December 17, 1933: An application is filed for $100,000 from Ohio’s share of federal funds for the beautification of the Road of Remembrances that runs from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.

The first steps to take advantage of the federal government’s offer to pay the full costs of developing a municipal airport for Youngstown if the city furnishes the site will be taken when a representative citizens committee will be organized to study the local airport situation.

Mahoning County relief officials will establish an office with a physician and two nurses to provide medical attention to indigent people.