Years Ago

Today is Thursday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2010. There are 344 days left in the year. On this date in 1910, shortly before 11 a.m., the Great Paris Flood begins as the rain-swollen Seine River bursts its banks, sending water into the French capital for more than a week.

In 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, is executed on the guillotine. In 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southerners resign from the U.S. Senate. In 1915, the first Kiwanis Club is founded, in Detroit. In 1950, George Orwell (Eric Blair), author of “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” dies in London at age 46. In 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched at Groton, Conn. In 1968, the Battle of Khe Sanh begins during the Vietnam War as North Vietnamese forces attack a U.S. Marine base; the Americans are able to hold their position until the siege is lifted 21‚Ñ2 months later. In 1970, the Boeing 747 goes on its first commercial flight as Pan Am passengers travel from New York to London.

January 21, 1985: Gov. Richard F. Celeste announces almost $29 million for highway and bridge construction work in Mahoning and Trumbull counties over two years.

Joe Montana throws three touchdown passes to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a victory in super Bowl XIX over the Miami Dolphins, 38-16.

January 21, 1970: Natural gas companies in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys begin rationing gas to industrial consumers because of record domestic consumption in the coldest January since 1918.

Woodrow W. Zinser, superintendent of the Youngstown schools since 1967, announces he will leave his $25,000-a-year post as of July 31.

January 21, 1960: Municipal Judge Don L. Hanni Jr. throws the book at a 34-year-old Kenmore Avenue man, sentencing him to six months in county jail and fining him $200 for driving while his license was under suspension for a drunken driving conviction and failure to stop after an accident.

Poland United Presbyterian Church, a growing suburban congregation, is planning to build a new sanctuary in 1963.

January 21, 1935: In a ceremony reminiscent of the medieval days, Charles B. Cushwa of Youngstown receives the sword and medal of a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great from Bishop Joseph Schrembs at St. John’s Cathedral in Cleveland.

The Rev. William H. Hudnut of the First Presbyterian Church endorses a “Brotherhood” meeting at the First Baptist Temple where Dr. Everett R. Clinchy of the National Conference of Jews and Christians will speak.