Today is Good Friday, March 21, the 81st day of 2008. There are 285 days left in the year. On this

Today is Good Friday, March 21, the 81st day of 2008. There are 285 days left in the year. On this date in 1685, composer Johann Sebastian Bach is born in Eisenach, Germany.

In 1804, the French civil code, or the “Code Napoleon” as it was later called, is adopted. In 1806, Mexican statesman Benito Juarez is born in Oaxaca. In 1907, U.S. Marines arrive in Honduras to protect American lives and interests in the wake of political violence. In 1946, the United Nations sets up temporary headquarters at Hunter College in New York. In 1957, President Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan begin a four-day conference in Bermuda. In 1960, some 70 people are killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fire on demonstrators. In 1963, the Alcatraz federal prison island in San Francisco Bay is emptied of its last inmates at the order of Attorney General Robert Kennedy. In 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. begin their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. In 1972, the Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, rules that states may not require at least a year’s residency for voting eligibility.

March 21, 1983: Kinks have been worked out of the distribution system for free cheese and butter to the needy in Northeast Ohio, say organizers in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Warren Police Chief Richard Galgozy says criminal activity in the city decreased during 1982.

The rivalry between two teachers unions in Youngstown Public Schools continues as the Youngstown Federation of Teachers argues that it, not the Youngstown Education Association, should participate in Solidarity Day. The YEA won an election choosing a bargaining agent for city teachers by just 18 votes.

March 21, 1968: Youngstown City Council approves back pay of $450,000 for city workers, part of new contracts reached after voters approved a half-percent increase in the income tax, which will provide $2.4 million annually.

East High students send a new flag to India Co., 26th Marine Regiment, Third Battalion, to replace one that a Vindicator story said was so tattered that it was barely recognizable. Capt. William H. Dabney writes that the new flag flying near Khe Sanh, “obviously bothers the North Vietnamese as they fire at it daily.”

Production of beverages in nonreturnable bottles is curtailed at three Youngstown area plants bottling Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola and Royal Crown Cola as a result of the national glassblowers strike.

March 21, 1958: A winter’s end storm paralyzes the northeast. Pennsylvania state police break through four feet of wet snow to reach more than 800 people marooned all night in a restaurant on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Morgantown.

Fraternity men at Youngstown University are assisting Friends of the Youngstown University Library to raise funds for the purchase of library books.

Mrs. Donald Ungar of Colonial Drive accepts chairmanship of the Woman’s Division of Israel’s 10th annual bond drive in Youngstown.

March 21, 1933: Youngstown City Council sends a demand to Ohio Edison Co. that it cut its residential and commercial power rates. Division Manager C.S. MacCalla responds by saying that the company is contemplating an increase in its rates

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt serves a press conference luncheon at the White House of hot stuffed eggs with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, prune pudding and coffee. A home economist says the meal would cost 71‚Ñ2 cents and is the first of many inexpensive meals that will be served at the White House.

Federal agents arrest a Youngstown rum runner as the investigation continues into the abduction of Peter Myers, 15, of Masury.