Today in history

Today is Sunday, April 19, the 108th day of 2009. There are 256 days left in the year. On this date in 1775, the American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

In 1897, the first Boston Marathon is held; winner John J. McDermott runs the course in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds. In 1933, the United States goes off the gold standard. In 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his Far East command by President Harry S. Truman, bids farewell in an address to Congress in which he quotes a line from a ballad: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” In 1982, astronauts Sally K. Ride and Guion S. Bluford Jr. become the first woman and first African-American to be tapped for U.S. space missions. In 1989, 47 sailors are killed when a gun turret explodes aboard the USS Iowa in the Caribbean. In 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends as fire destroys the structure after federal agents begin smashing their way in; dozens of people, including leader David Koresh, are killed. In 1995, a truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.

April 19, 1984: A bank deposit bag containing $2,400 in currency and checks is snatched from the desk of a Struthers Municipal Court bailiff’s desk while the bailiff was out to lunch.

A bartender at Mr. C’s Lounge in New Middletown tells a reporter that one of Sheriff James Traficant’s deputies drank more than a half-bottle of whiskey before going on a rampage that landed the deputy in the hospital “I couldn’t shut him off,” the bartender says, “You can’t tell a guy who is pointing a .357 Magnum and a .45 to get out.”

April 19, 1969: Officials from the state, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, and interested laymen, resume discussions on the proposed $5 million Green Township Reservoir, which would be about half as large as the Meander Reservoir.

Formal agreement on organizing as Fraternal Order of Deputy Sheriffs Lodge No. 1 and hiring Atty. Don L. Hanni as legal adviser is reached at a special meeting by members of the Mahoning County sheriff’s force.

For the third straight year, Phi Sigma Kappa is named best fraternity at Youngstown State University’s Greek Sing, under the direction of Skip Rosario. Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, directed by Nick DeCarbo, wins the sorority trophy. More than 2,400 people attended the 17th annual event at Stambaugh Auditorium.

April 19, 1959: John M. Stewart, 13, an eighth grade student from Kinsman, dies after being struck in the head with a 12-pound shot during a track and field meet between Kinsman High and Cortland High at Kinsman.

Miss Bebe Botty talented young pianist, will be the guest soloist with the noted Boston Pops Orchestra in Boston. She is the daughter of The Rev. John Botty, pastor of Hungarian Evangelical Reformed Church, and Mrs. Pauline Botty, head of the sociology department at Youngstown University.

April 19, 1934: Mahoning County commissioners send out letter asking all county officials to slash their expenses by 15 percent to help keep the county’s institutions open. County Treasurer George P. Lewis and Recorder Fred M. Griffith respond quickly, saying they will comply. Other county officials are expected to follow suit.

Members of the Ohio House of Representatives face their first mandatory call, under which members who don’t make themselves available to vote on a proposed sales tax will face arrest.

Mrs. F. C. McCreary is named to the board of trustees of Himrod Avenue Baptist Church and Mrs. Elizabeth Morrow is elected to the board of deacons, the first time women have held those posts at the church.

Miss Agnes Smith of Boardman plays the role of Ruth in “Pirates of Penzance,” a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, presented at Muskingum College.