Today is Friday, May 2, the 123rd day of 2008. There are 243 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, May 2, the 123rd day of 2008. There are 243 days left in the year. On this date in 1908, the original version of the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, is copyrighted by Von Tilzer’s York Music Co.

In 1670, the Hudson Bay Company is chartered by England’s King Charles II. In 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va.; he dies eight days later. In 1890, the Oklahoma Territory is organized. In 1936, “Peter and the Wolf,” a symphonic tale for children by Sergei Prokofiev, has its world premiere in Moscow. In 1945, the Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin, and the Allies announce the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria. In 1957, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, the controversial Republican senator from Wisconsin, dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. In 1957, crime boss Frank Costello narrowly survives an attempt on his life in New York; the alleged gunman, Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, is acquitted at trial after Costello refuses to identify him as the shooter. In 1960, Caryl Chessman, who became a best-selling author while on death row for kidnapping, robbery and sexual offenses, is executed at San Quentin Prison in California.

May 2, 1983: The 11th District Court of Appeals voids Niles’ tough marijuana possession law, noting that the state legislature is the only proper body to create tough anti-drug legislation. The city’s law provided penalties of up to six months in jail for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

An FBI agent testifies at the trial of Sheriff James A. Traficant Jr. that Jean Celec, a sister of mobsters Charles and Orland Carabbia, feared for her life because she had possession of tapes of conversations between Traficant and the Carabbias.

In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of police officers to arrest people regarded as suspicious merely because such people refuse to identify themselves.

May 2, 1968: Dr. Martin W. Essex, Ohio superintendent of public instruction, says, “Youngstown citizens must support their schools in order to maintain their own property values, build an advancing economy for the city and provide opportunities for young people.”

Hospitalman Dennis N. Johnston, 20, of McDonald is reported killed near Khe Sahn, Vietnam.

Four South Side clergymen receive permission from the Youngstown Board of Education to establish “tot lots” for preschoolers adjacent to elementary schools.

May 2, 1958: Mahoning County commissioners adopt a new grid plan for house numbering the county, but the burden of financing the program falls to individual townships.

County commissioners are considering seriously the establishment of a surplus food distribution system for the needy following a meeting with labor representatives.

George McCuskey, financial vice president of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., testifies in New York that a merger between his company and Bethlehem Steel Corp. would increase steel production for both civilian and military needs.

May 2, 1933: The contract to furnish the U.S. government with steel office furniture needs for the fiscal year is again awarded to General Fireproofing Co., president George Brainard announces. The contract has a value of $500,000.

Mrs. Charlotte Welch Dixon, 58, prominent Youngstown music teacher, dies in St. Elizabeth Hospital. She began studying piano at a young age and gained recognition as one of the foremost pianists in the district.

Working together, boys and girls at George Junior Republic, a reformatory near Grove City, Pa., chop a hole in the floor of the chapel to save three boys who were trapped in the basement by a fire.

After a hour-long experiment during which street lights were turned off between midnight and 1 a.m. throughout Warren, city officials decide the lights should not be turned off and the city must find a way of paying $43,000 in overdue bills to the Ohio Public Service Co.