This day in history

Today is Wednesday, July 8, the 189th day of 2009. There are 176 days left in the year. On this date in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson receives a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France; Wilson then heads back to Washington, arriving around midnight.

In 1663, King Charles II of England grants a Royal Charter to Rhode Island. In 1776, Col. John Nixon gives the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, in Philadelphia. In 1853, an expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese. In 1889, The Wall Street Journal is first published. In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld stages his first “Follies,” on the roof of the New York Theater. In 1947, demolition work begins in New York City to make way for the new permanent headquarters of the United Nations. In 1950, President Harry S. Truman names Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander in chief of U.N. forces in Korea.

July 8, 1984: Preliminary estimates show Mahoning County’s personal property tax will drop by about $21 million, with the biggest losers being the city and its schools.

Neighborhood children on Blosser Road in North Lima are attempting to nurse back to health a young and uncommon pileated woodpecker that had been trapped in a ditch.

Dr. Warren M. Young, astronomy professor at Youngstown State University, and other members of the YSU faculty say NASA has made a good choice in naming one of their former students, Warren native Dr. Ronald A. Parise, to the astronaut corps.

July 8, 1969: Ohio crop losses from a July 4 storm are estimated at $40 million.

The Ohio Senate defeats a bill to provide for the uniform Monday observance of four national holidays in Ohio, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day.

J. Wesley Polock is named superintendent of South Range School District, which takes in Beaver and Green townships.

July 8, 1959: Austintown Town-ship trustees will prohibit development of thousands of acres between Four Mile Run Road and Benton Avenue north of route 18 until county commissioners and the county engineer resolve the flooding problem in the Wickliffe area.

Three Youngstown area businessmen are yelling “foul” on a Pittsburgh Police Department decision that they were scalping tickets for the All-Star game at Forbes Field. Gerald Blanchard, Joesph Gennaro and Sam Matteo were among 15 people arrested for scalping, but they say they were unfairly caught up with others who were scalping.

John Zappia, 66, of West Pittsburg, a B&O car inspector, is crushed to death between two freight cars in the Haseltine Yards.

July 8, 1934: Merger negotiations are on between Republic Steel Corp., the third largest steel company in the country, and McKinney Steel Co. and Otis Steel Co.

Total assets of the six Youngstown banks increased $6 million to $59 million between March and June.

Mayor Mark E. Moore issues an official proclamation setting five days as “Opportunity Days” and commending Youngstown merchants for their participation in a sale that will run nearly a week.