Today is Friday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2010. There are 364 days left in the year. Today is New

Today is Friday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2010. There are 364 days left in the year. Today is New Year’s Day. On this date in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states are free.

In 1760, the first two volumes of Laurence Sterne’s novel “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” are published in London. In 1808, a law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States goes into effect. In 1890, the first Tournament of Roses is held in Pasadena, Calif. In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opens. In 1953, country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, is discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, W.Va., while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio. In 1960, French Cameroun becomes an independent republic. In 1984, the breakup of AT&T takes place as the telecommunications giant is divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement. In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect. In 1999, the euro, the new single currency of 11 European countries (later 16), officially comes into existence with the start of the New Year. (The euro becomes legal tender on this date in 2002.)

January 1, 1985: The Youngs-town Board of Education reaches a tentative agreement on new contracts with its employee unions, including the Youngstown Education Association, averting a threatened strike at the resumption of classes.

Youngstown‘s first baby of the new year is a daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. David J. Trevis at St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center 13 minutes after 1985 began.

The New Year is welcomed in Warren with a gala ball at the W.D. Packard Music Hall, which was also a fund-raiser for the Trumbull Red Cross disaster relief fund.

January 1, 1970: Youngstown’s first baby of the New Year is a daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Bryarly at 2:24 a.m. on New Year’s Day in St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Clothing stolen in a bold burglary at Dom Perry’s Menswear at 28 Wick Ave. is valued at $20,000.

Agreements that have been reached between the city of Youngstown and two major airlines, United and Allegheny, are predicted to bring increases of $30,000 to $35,000 in revenue for the city.

January 1, 1960: J.L. Mauthe, board chairman of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., predicts steel production in 1960 will be at record levels, with employment and prosperity to match.

Three prominent Youngstown couples will embark on a three-month, around-the-world tour by ship. The travelers are Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Thatcher, Mrs. and Mrs. Thomas Murray Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Watson.

The Youngstown Fire Department takes delivery of a new Seagrave squad truck that cost $21,950.

January 1, 1935: Youngstown City Council unanimously passes an ordinance outlawing all endurance contests in the city and setting a $500 penalty for running such events as walkathons.

A daughter born at 12:01 a.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bell, 816 Lakewood Ave., is Youngstown’s first baby of the new year.

A small caliber bullet strikes the foot of Patsy Adams, 41, as she is walking in Walnut Street. Officer John Welsh says the bullet apparently came from a gun fired by New Year’s joymakers.