Saturday, December 26, 2009
Today is Saturday, Dec. 26th, the 360th day of 2009. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day. On this date in 1799, former President George Washington is eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
In 1776, the British suffer a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. In 1908, Jack Johnson becomes the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeats Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia. In 1909, illustrator Frederic Remington dies in Ridgefield, Conn., at age 48. In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issues a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads. In 1941, Winston Churchill becomes the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. In 1944, during the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, is relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division. In 1947, heavy snow blankets the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather is blamed for some 80 deaths. In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, dies in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.
December 26, 1984: U.S. Rep. Lyle Williams, R-17th, who was defeated for re-election by Democrat James A. Traficant Jr., is being considered for a position in the Reagan Labor Department.
At least 496 people died in traffic accidents on the nation’s roadways during the four-day Christmas holiday period, the National Safety Council says.
Post-election reports show Atty. Gary VanBrocklin spent $22,145 on his successful campaign to unseat Prosecutor Vincent Gilmartin, who spent $12,333 in the general election.
December 26, 1969: Donald L. Campbell, 43, acting Warren postmaster, his wife, Margaret, 44, and their son Donald Jr., 20, die in a Christmas Day fire that swept through their home at 1553 Maplewood Ave. NE.
The Youngstown area saw a record low for Christmas Day with the mercury dipping to 5 degrees at the airport.
Youngstown hospitals report 15 Christmas Day babies, the first of them a boy born to Mr. and Mrs. Guy L. Bush at North Side Hospital.
December 26, 1959: Youngstown traffic officers are kept busy on Christmas day, arresting seven men for drunken driving, four of whom where involved in accidents.
Six Youngstown area couples have Christmas Day babies, the first being a daughter born to Mr. And Mrs. James Conroy in St. Elizabeth Hospital.
S.H. Kress announces that it will close its downtown store at 117 W. Federal St. after 35 years in business in the area. About 40 employees will be affected.
December 26, 1934: The Mississippi Valley Authority recommends to Public Works Administrator Harold Ickes that construction of the Beaver-Mahoning rivers waterway be deferred until the steel mills that would benefit from it agree to pay for it. Frank Purnell, president of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., responds as he has in the past, that the companies are already paying for the project with their general taxes.
Youngstown merchants report their best Christmas season since 1930 and are looking forward to 1935. Postal receipts in Youngstown were up 26 percent for the holiday season over a year earlier.
Two Christmas babies were born in Youngstown North Side Hospital, a son to Mr. and Mrs. John Dorrington of 411 Broadway, and a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Williams of W. Ravenwood Ave.