This day in history

Today is Thursday, July 9, the 190th day of 2009. There are 175 days left in the year. On this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York.

In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII has his 6-month-old marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled. In 1816, Argentina declares independence from Spain. In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, dies after serving only 16 months of his term. (He is succeeded by Millard Fillmore.) In 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivers his famous “cross of gold” speech at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. In 1918, 101 people are killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tenn. The Distinguished Service Cross is established by an Act of Congress. In 1938, Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo dies in Port Chester, N.Y., at age 68. In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten is announced.

July 9, 1984: The last of the three Youngstown area men held hostage in Saudi Arabia in a dispute between a Saudi prince and Bucheit International of Boardman returns home. George Kunce joins Edward Pease and Ben Eliseo back in the Mahoning Valley.

Gov. Richard Celeste awards a $208,000 Community Development Block Grant to Newton Falls to help retain the Therm-X plant in the city and save 63 jobs.

A Census Bureau study shows there may be a reverse in the trend of older people moving out of cities for small towns, with the elderly leading the way back to city living.

July 9, 1969: Directors of the Mayor’s Human Relations Commission and the Youngstown Area Community Action Program ask Youngstown park officials to extend the playground hours in some of the city’s 43 play areas.

Mahoning County Treasurer Joseph P. Gorman and Recorder Horace G. Tetlow join Auditor Stephen R. Olenick in announcing that their offices will discontinue Saturday morning hours for the summer, and possibly permanently.

A 12-year-old Huron boy, Todd McKinnon, is electrocuted after climbing out of the swimming pool and mounting an “exercycle” at the Town and Country Motel in Warren. Deputy Coroner Dr. Steven Pollis rules the death accidental due to electric shock.

July 9, 1959: A mail car destined for Youngstown on an Erie Railroad train is destroyed by fire near Lima. A pouch of first class mail for Warren was known to be damaged.

Pittsburgh police drop charges of ticket scalping against three Youngstown businessmen and return their $100 bond, but the men were chagrined at having missed the All Star game at Forbes Field.

Howard P. Wilson passes the gavel of Youngstown Rotary president to Charles B. Miller Jr., manager of foreign operations for “Automatic” Sprinkler Corp.

July 9, 1934: Mahoning County’s first old age pension checks for $20 each are present to Mr. and Mrs. E.S. Davis by Dr. A.M. Rosenblum, chairman of the county pension board

The proposed merger of the Republic Steel Corp. and Corrigan-McKinney Steel Co. is seen as a move by the steel industry to keep General Motors from buying Corrigan-McKenney.

Robert Carrier, 3, is killed and his brother, Donald, 5, and mother, Mrs. James Carrier, all of Canfield, are injured when their car collides with a street car on Parkview Avenue in Youngstown.