Years ago

April 19, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Today is Monday, April 19, the 109th day of 2010. There are 256 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1775: The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

1897: The first Boston Marathon is held; winner John J. McDermott runs the course in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.

1910: After weeks of being viewed through telescopes, Halley’s Comet is reported visible to the naked eye in Curacao.

1982: Astronauts Sally K. Ride and Guion S. Bluford Jr. become the first woman and first African-American to be tapped for U.S. space missions.

1995: A truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (Timothy McVeigh is later convicted of federal murder charges and executed.)

VINDICATOR FILES

1985: U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. returns from a three day trip to Japan. An aide says Traficant did not convince Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to build an assembly plant in the Mahoning Valley.

Youngstown Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro sends a letter to the federal government approving a suggested restructuring of financing for a proposed brewery at Youngstown Commerce Park.

The economy grew at an anemic annual rate of 1.3 percent in the first three months of the year, the slowest in more than two years, and could contribute to the federal budget deficit that is already estimated at a record $213 billion for the fiscal year.

1970: Mahoning County officials are beginning to take seriously a threat of a ban on construction by the Ohio Water Pollution Control Board after the board imposes such a ban on Cleveland and 33 communities that are tied to the city’s sewage system.

Sixth Ward City Councilman William Bryant proposes a bill to license ambulance service in the city, a move that would eventually lead to the city getting out of the ambulance business.

1960: Dr. J. Harry Wanamaker is elected superintendent of Youngstown public schools by the Board of Education.

More than 3,400 people attend two performances of the Mills Bros. Circus at the Canfield Fairgrounds, sponsored by the Canfield Rotary Club.

The Board of Eduction approves a contract for $154,575 for construction of bleachers seating 3,400 at the South High School Stadium.

1935: Police arrest five boys who are believed to have been systematically looting the Commercial Shearing & Stamping Co. of machinery and scrap valued at $3,000 from a lot along Crab Creek.

Youngstown Council President Myron Williams suggests formation of a new sanitary district that would apply for federal funds for the conservancy of the upper Mahoning River.