Today is Sunday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2008. There are 346 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Sunday, Jan. 20, the 20th day of 2008. There are 346 days left in the year. On this date in 1981, Iran releases 52 Americans it had held hostage for 444 days. Minutes later, the presidency passes from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan.

In 1801, Secretary of State John Marshall is nominated by President Adams to be chief justice of the United States. In 1841, the island of Hong Kong is ceded by China to Great Britain. (It returns to Chinese control in July 1997.)

In 1887, the U.S. Senate approves an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base. In 1936, Britain’s King George V dies; he is succeeded by Edward VIII.

In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt becomes the first chief executive to be inaugurated on Jan. 20 instead of March 4. In 1942, Nazi officials hold the notorious Wannsee conference, during which they arrive at their “final solution” that calls for exterminating Jews. In 1945, President Roosevelt is sworn into office for an unprecedented fourth term.

In 1954, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” a play by Herman Wouk based on part of his novel “The Caine Mutiny,” opens on Broadway. In 1986, the United States observes the first federal holiday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1998, a jury is selected in Amarillo, Texas, to hear a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by Texas cattlemen against talk show host Oprah Winfrey over comments made on her program concerning beef safety. (Winfrey wins the case.)

In 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell, faced with stiff resistance and calls to go slow, bluntly tells the Security Council that the U.N.
“must not shrink” from its responsibility to disarm Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. In 2007, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., launches a campaign for the White House, saying in a videotaped messsage on her Web site: “I’m in, and I’m in to win.” Also in 2007, 25 U.S. troops are killed in Iraq.

 January 20, 1983: Youngstown Police Chief John Lynch says he will transfer 18 veteran officers from desk work to patrol duty to help cover the loss of 25 policemen who are being laid off in a budget crunch.

Welfare rolls in Mahoning County are growing, with increases highest in general relief and food stamp categories. A total of 1,337 people were added to general relief in 1982, an increase of 21 percent.

Michael Del Bane, the new chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, says the PUCO will provide solid regulation of utilities, but he can’t promise lower prices.

January 20, 1968: The Ohio Board of Regents approves a $25 per-quarter increase in tuition for out-of-state students at Youngstown State University and five other state-supported schools.

William J. Hitchcock, president of the Youngstown Hospital Association’s board of trustees resigns from the board, ending a long history of family service on the board. His grandfather, William J. Hitchcock was a member of the original hospital board and Hitchcock Auditorium at South Side Hospital is named for the family.

The Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, executive vice president of Notre Dame University, makes an appeal for support of the $52 million fund-raising campaign to 200 Youngstown-Warren alumni and guests at the Hotel Ohio.

January 20, 1958: A homemade rocket soars almost a mile into the air over Youngstown in another successful launching by the Youngstown Rocket Club, composed of 15 senior boys from Rayen School.

Thousands of winter sports fans take advantage of pleasant weekend weather for ice skating and sled riding, with Mill Creek Park reporting its “biggest winter day in history.” Lake Newport remains closed to skaters, but there is skating at the Lily Pond.

January 20, 1933: Youngstown city council agrees to sell four horses being kept by the engineering department and close the city’s horse barn. The job of barn boss, which is said to be held by a relative of councilman J.P. Colleran, who cast the only negative vote, is abolished. The city will save $3,000 a year in upkeep of the horses and barn.

Members of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union from throughout Mahoning County meet at Central Christian Church for “Prohibition Day,” dedicated to the maintenance of anti-liquor laws.

Three members of the Youngs–town Fire Department celebrate their 25th year on the force. Chief Harry Callan, Capt. Charles Lofthouse and Patrick Murphy all entered the service in 1908.