Today is Saturday, March 21, the 80th day of 2009. There are 285 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, March 21, the 80th day of 2009. There are 285 days left in the year. On this date in 1685, composer Johann Sebastian Bach is born in Eisenach, Germany.

In 1804, the French civil code, or the “Code Napoleon” as it is later called, is adopted. In 1806, Mexican statesman Benito Juarez is born in Oaxaca. In 1907, U.S. Marines arrive in Honduras to protect American lives and interests in the wake of political violence. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan begin a four-day conference in Bermuda. In 1960, some 70 people are killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, when police fire on demonstrators. In 1963, the Alcatraz federal prison island in San Francisco Bay is emptied of its last inmates at the order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. begin their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. In 1972, the Supreme Court, in Dunn v. Blumstein, rules that states may not require at least a year’s residency for voting eligibility. In 1985, police in Langa, South Africa, open fire on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville shootings; the reported death toll varies between 29 and 43. In 1990, Namibia becomes an independent nation as the former colony marks the end of 75 years of South African rule.

March 21, 1984: The Justice Depart-ment tentatively agrees to a scaled-down merger of the LTV Corp. And Republic Steel Corp. Republic will shed its specialty steel operations in Massillon.

Thomas C. Master, Boardman businessman and community leader, is named man of the year by the Boardman Civic Association.

The Youngstown Board of Education agrees to a net increase of 36 jobs as it approves an appropriations budget of $62.5 million for 1984.

March 21, 1969: The Peoples Bank of Youngstown buys the site of the razed Palace Theater on Wick Avenue at Central Square to build a multi-story office building.

Joseph W. Gottliev, 90, a life-long self-styled rebel who waged many colorful battles against public officials during more than 65 years in Youngstown, dies at Heritage Manor on Gypsy Lane. His first campaign, which he launched shortly after arriving in Youngstown after resigning as a second-grade teacher in New York in a dispute over text material, was against prostitution that was flourishing in the city. Over the years he filed taxpayer suits against judges, politicians and police officers.

The 1,557 students at Woodrow Wilson High School on Youngstown’s South Side have some breathing room after eighth graders were transferred from the school to Adams School.

March 21, 1959: As part of its sight-saving program, U.S. Steel Corp.’s Youngstown district begins furnishing free safety glasses and goggles in several different types designed for different jobs.

A Tonti Court man and Wilson Avenue woman are arrested with lottery slips in their possession as Youngstown police open a crackdown on bug writers.

Salem High School’s basketball team reaches the state championship game for the first time in the school’s history with a come-from-behind victory over Middletown, 68-65, in the semifinal game.

March 21, 1934: Meeting with 200 retailers, Clarence Strouss of Strouss-Hirshberg, urges every Youngstown retail merchant to go to Columbus to show by force of numbers local opposition to the proposed state sales tax.

General Fireproofing Co. is preparing to take over the aluminum chair manufacturing activities of the Aluminum Co. of America and do the work in Youngstown.

Youngstown area grocers say that unless the Mahoning County relief director pays bills owed to Jan. 1, 14,000 families on relief in Youngstown will find themselves without somewhere to get food.