Today is Friday, Nov. 28, the 333rd day of 2008. There are 33 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Nov. 28, the 333rd day of 2008. There are 33 days left in the year. On this date in 1942, nearly 500 people die in a fire that destroys the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston.

In 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name. In 1907, future movie producer Louis B. Mayer opens his first movie theater, in Haverhill, Mass. In 1919, American-born Lady Astor is elected the first female member of the British Parliament. In 1943, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin begin conferring in Tehran during World War II. In 1958, Chad, Gabon and Middle Congo become autonomous republics within the French community. In 1964, the United States launches the space probe Mariner 4 on a course to Mars. In 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 en route to the South Pole crashes into a mountain in Antarctica, killing all 257 people aboard. In 1987, a South African Airways Boeing 747 crashes into the Indian Ocean with the loss of all 159 people aboard. In 2001, Enron Corp. collapses after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backs out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

November 28, 1983: Chuck Tanner, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a native of New Castle, receives the Westminster College Citation for Professional Achievement during the Titans home opener basketball game.

Charging that “greedy corporate owners” are responsible for Youngstown’s industrial collapse, the Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for a national policy to prohibit plant closings without prior notice. About 2,500 people pack Mount Calvary Pentecostal Church to hear the address.

The Cabbage Patch Doll craze arrives in Youngstown as hundreds of shoppers race into Hills Department stores as their doors open and plunder limited selections of the dolls within minutes.

November 28, 1968: Gov. James A. Rhodes advances a mammoth legislative program for the 1970s that provides $59 million for highway construction in Mahoning County and a plan that would make Youngstown State University the seat of higher education for five Eastern Ohio counties.

City Council authorizes the urban renewal agency to enter a contract with the federal government for development of the Youngstown Health Center near St. Elizabeth Hospital.

A battle is looming in the state Legislature over making color photographs part of Ohio drivers license. The legislature approved photo licenses, but appropriated no money to implement them. Finance Director Howard Collier says he sees no connection between the photos and highway safety and will oppose spending $250,000 on the project.

November 28, 1958: State Sen. Charles J. Carney of Youngstown withdraws as a candidate for majority leader of the Ohio Senate, leaving the field to Sen. Frank W. King of Toledo who, like Carney, has strong political backing from labor unions.

Andy Cvercko, a graduate of Campbell Memorial High School and an electrical engineering student at Northwestern University, is named to the tackle spot on the Associated Press All-Big 10 first team. Ara Parseghian called Cvercko “one of the best linemen I have ever coached.”

The Youngstown Transit Co. puts special service buses on virtually all night lines Monday and Thursday evening to accommodate downtown shoppers on those evenings.

November 28, 1933: City council authorizes the issuance of $352,000 in scrip that will be used to pay city employees after downtown merchants, led by L.B. McKelvey, pledge to accept the scrip at face value.

Edgar “Earl” Moran, reputed head of Youngstown bookmakers, is on trial in Akron on charges he attempted to bribe an Akron detective during a murder investigation.

Joseph Redman, 38, who was fined $150 and sentenced to three months in jail for turning in a false fire alarm is ordered released by Municipal Judge P.B. Mulholland, after he learns the full story, that Redman pulled the alarm at Canal and E. Boardman streets after being robbed of $90.