Today is Monday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2008. There are 17 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2008. There are 17 days left in the year. On this date in 1799, George Washington, the first president of the United States, dies at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.

In 1941, U.S. Marines make a stand in the battle for Wake Island in Pacific during World War II. In 1958, the United States, Britain and France reject Soviet demands that they withdraw their troops from West Berlin and agree to liquidate the Allied occupation in West Berlin. In 1967, Israel submits to the United Nations a five-year plan to solve the Arab refugee problem conditioned on a general peace settlement between Israel and the Arab states. In 1972, U.S. Apollo 17 astronauts blast off from the moon after three days of exploration on lunar surface.

December 14, 1984: Electrical workers at the Packard Electric Division of General Motors and auto workers at the GM Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Division at Lordstown approve new local contracts by significant margins.

Warren City Council approves a 1985 budget of $31.5 million of which $13.3 million is for general operations.

December 14, 1969: With six weeks until the filing deadline, seven contenders have announced their intention to run for the Democratic nomination in the 17th Congressional District. The incumbent, Michael J. Kirwan, announced that he will retire after 34 years in Congress.

An audience of 2,300 attends the Youngstown Symphony Society’s annual production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “The Nutcracker,” at Powers Auditorium.

December 14, 1959:The Communist Party of the United States elects Gus Hall, a former Youngstown resident and labor activist, president of the party.

FBI agents and police crime lab technicians are checking a wired bomb found in the night deposit box of the Lincoln Knolls branch of the Dollar Savings & Trust Co.

Home Savings & Loan Co. will show off the $750,000 remodeling of its downtown building with an open house.

The opera workshop of Dana School of Music at Youngstown University will present “La Perichole” at the C.J. Strouss Memorial Auditorium.

December 14, 1934: The consensus of speakers at the Ohio Valley Improvement Association’s 40th annual convention in Cincinnati is that Youngstown will get its Mahoning River canal.

Envoys from five more European nations, France, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, inform Washington that they will default on war debt payments totaling $630 million. Great Britain and Belgium had previous announced their default. Only Finland has said it is prepared to pay.

Skating on two lakes in Mill Creek Park is announced by Frank Hughes, superintendent of the park. Both Newport and Glacier are being used by skaters. There is no skating yet in city parks.