Today in history

Today is Friday, July 3, the 184th day of 2009. There are 181 days left in the year. On this date in 1863, the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ends in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreat.

In 1775, Gen. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass. In 1898, the U.S. Navy defeats a Spanish fleet outside Santiago Bay in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. In 1962, Algeria becomes independent after 132 years of French rule. In 1971, singer Jim Morrison of The Doors dies in Paris at age 27. In 1979, Dan White, convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting deaths of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, is sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison. (He ends up serving five years.) In 1988, the USS Vincennes shoots down an Iran Air jetliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.

July 3, 1984: The state of Ohio will begin in 1985 to check its motorists for vision every four years, hoping to rid the highways of those who can’t see well enough to drive safely.

The American steel industry’s newly formed second-largest steel company, Cleveland-headquartered LTV Steel Corp., is now official, merging LTV Corp.’s subsidiary, Jones & Laughlin Steel, and the Republic Steel Corp.

July 3, 1969: Two parked cars, a 1967 Chevrolet and a 1969 Dodge, are destroyed on Edgewood Street when fireworks in the trunk of the Chevrolet blew up. The owner of the car denied the fireworks were his and suggested that someone used the car without his permission to pick up the illegal explosives and left them in the trunk.

Herbert E. Strawbridge, president of the Higbee Co. of Cleveland, which is taking over the G.M. McKelvey Co., comes to Youngstown for preliminary meetings with various company officials.

July 3, 1959: Traffic safety officials throughout the nation mount a campaign to keep July 4th fatalities to a minimum. On the Ohio Turnpike, the state patrol will be using radar cars on a limited basis.

Playing at the Warner Theater, “Hercules” starring Steve Reeves.

July 3, 1934: A well-dressed crowd of 5,000, about half of them women, attend the opening night of dog races at the Canfield Fairgrounds. Top price of the evening was paid on Lucky Max, whose victory was worth $39.40 on a $2 ticket.

City Law Director U.F. Kistler is preparing to go to the court of appeals seeking a ruling that the city has the right to place a midnight closing limit on the sale of beer in hotels and restaurants.