Years Ago

Today is Saturday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2009. There are 68 days left in the year. On this date in 1945, the United Nations officially comes into existence as its charter takes effect. (On this date in 1949, construction begins on the U.N. headquarters in New York.)

In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England’s King Henry VIII, dies 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years War and effectively destroys the Holy Roman Empire. In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message is sent as Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmits a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln. In 1901, widow Anna Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. In 1939, Benny Goodman and his orchestra record their signature theme, “Let’s Dance,” for Columbia Records in New York. Nylon stockings are sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del. In 1952, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declares in Detroit, “I shall go to Korea” as he promises to end the conflict. (He makes the visit over a month later.) In 1980, the merchant freighter SS Poet departs Philadelphia bound for Port Said, Egypt, with a crew of 34 and a cargo of grain; it disappears en route and has not been heard from since. In 1989, former television evangelist Jim Bakker is sentenced by a judge in Charlotte, N.C., to 45 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. (The sentence is later reduced to eight years; it is further reduced to four for good behavior.) In 2002, authorities arrest Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Md., in connection with the Washington-area sniper attacks.

October 24, 1984: Bishop James W. Malone of Youngstown is one of five American bishops and archbishops visiting Northern Ireland to prepare a report on the unrest there that will be presented to the national conference of bishops.

Flora S. Colwes, a Youngstown nurse, wins $100,000 on an instant lottery ticket purchased at Newport News on Hillman Way.

U.S. Rep. Lyle Williams, R-17th, announces a $224,465 federal grant for the construction of an Emergency Operations Center in the basement of the courthouse.

October 24, 1969: The Youngstown Area United Appeal campaign reaches $1.8 million, about $40,000 short of its goal, at the final report meeting at Hotel Ohio. A record gift of $354,000 is turned in by Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. and its employees.

A county-wide zoning ordinance is proposed as the initial step in implementing Mahoning County’s $7.5 million Community Renewal program.

Democratic Sen. Stephen M. Young of Ohio, at 80 the oldest member of the Senate, says he will not seek a third term in 1970.

October 24, 1959: Clarence Mc-Mullen, 57, superintendent of the Mahoning County Home, is in satisfactory condition after a head-on crash in Rt. 46 in Canfield. It was the fourth time McMullen crashed a county car in 11 years.

Advertisement: New Glitter Glo Halloween costumes and famous TV stars, $1.98 to $2.98, at G.C. Murphy Co. Stores. Among them: Superman, Sleeping Beauty, Mickey Mouse, Zorro and a Moon Man.

Ursuline shatters East’s winning streak, 12-6, before 8,500 fans at Rayen’s Stadium.

October 24, 1934: Family and friends gather at the home of Dr. William H. Hudnut at 245 North Heights Avenue to celebrate the 70th birthday of the pastor of First Presbyterian Church.

The National Revolutionary Party has closed all Catholic churches in Mexico and is mulling a proposal to exile all bishops and archbishops from the country.