Years Ago

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 6, the sixth day of 2010. There are 359 days left in the year. On this date in 1838, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail give the first successful public demonstration of their telegraph, in Morristown, N.J.

In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII marries his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. (The marriage lasts about six months.) In 1759, George Washington and Martha Dandridge Custis are married in New Kent County, Va. In 1912, New Mexico becomes the 47th state. In 1919, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, dies in Oyster Bay, N.Y., at age 60. In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, outlines a goal of “Four Freedoms”: Freedom of speech and expression; the freedom of people to worship God in their own way; freedom from want; freedom from fear. In 1942, the Pan American Airways Pacific Clipper arrives in New York more than a month after leaving California and following a westward route. In 1945, George Herbert Walker Bush marries Barbara Pierce in Rye, N.Y. In 1950, Britain recognizes the Communist government of China. In 1967, U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops launch Operation Deckhouse Five, an offensive in the Mekong River delta. In 1982, truck driver William G. Bonin is convicted in Los Angeles of 10 of the “Freeway Killer” slayings of young men and boys. (Bonin is later convicted of four other killings; he was executed in 1996.) In 2000, in Miami, demonstrators angered by the U.S. government’s decision to send Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba skirmish with police. Republican presidential candidates debate in Durham, N.H. with such issues as taxes and gays in the military dominating the discussion.

January 6, 1985: Gov. Richard F. Celeste urges Mahoning County communities to forge a unified strategy for economic recovery.

Councilman George M. McKelvey, D-3rd, is calling for an independent study of city government, noting that similar studies have cut costs for other cities by 10 percent.

Tony Santelli, 72, of Beaver Falls has been collecting door knobs for 37 years and has amassed a collection numbering 2,000.

January 6, 1970: A near perfect performance by the Minnesota Vikings gives them a 14-0 victory over the Cleveland Browns and the National Football League title, ending the Browns hope to meet the AFL title holder in the Super Bowl.

Third Ward Councilman Emanuel N. Catsoules, starting his second term, is elected president pro tem of City Council.

Gov. James A. Rhodes drops plans to upgrade seven two-year colleges to four-year institutions and will substitute a more gradual plan.

January 6, 1960: After meeting with Charles Vimmerstedt, manager of the Safety Council of Greater Youngstown, Mayor Frank R. Franko announces that he will continue the City Safety Committee, an advisory group established 11 years earlier.

Pope John XXIII appoints Youngstown native the Rev. James W. Malone auxiliary bishop of Youngstown to assist Bishop Emmet M. Walsh.

Three daring bandits wearing ladies stockings over their faces hold 60 people at bay at the North Side bowling lanes and make off with about $1,400.

January 6, 1935: From 13,000 to 14,000 Mahoning County residents will be put on the federal payroll if a new works program submitted by President Franklin Roosevelt is approved.

Youngstown Mayor Mark E. Moore issues an official proclamation setting aside four days as Opportunity Days when Youngstown merchants will offer customers a opportunity to stock up on merchandise before Ohio’s 3 percent sales tax goes into effect.

Judge Erskine Maiden Jr. will speak on “The life of Bobby Burns” at the annual banquet of Clan MacDonald Jan. 24, in the social rooms of Westminster Presbyterian Church.