Years Ago

Today is Monday, Dec. 5, the 339th day of 2011. There are 26 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1776: The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, is organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

1848: President James K. Polk triggers the Gold Rush of ’49 by confirming that gold has been discovered in California.

1932: German physicist Albert Einstein is granted a visa, making it possible for him to travel to the United States.

1955: The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge as the AFL-CIO under president George Meany.

1991: Richard Speck, who’d murdered eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, dies in prison a day short of his 50th birthday.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Trumbull County Sheriff Richard A. Jakmas agrees to lay off three employees, clearing the way for county commissioners to transfer the funds necessary to pay the department’s remaining 68 workers.

The Canfield Planning Commission denies a request by Barbara Clarke to be allowed to operate a wholesale bakery from her home at 101 Court St.

1971: Despite some acute shortages in natural gas, William F. Eckles, East Ohio Gas Co.’s Youngstown division manager, says the company expects to get through the winter without cutting gas to customers.

General Motors announces the largest automotive recall in industry history, saying it is advising the owners of more than 6.6 million Chevrolets to have dealers install a restraint to counteract possible engine mount failure.

1961: State Liquor Department agents raid Louis Tiberio’s Tropics bar at 1305 Market St., where they find 35 to 40 people being served after Sunday morning closing hours.

Teamsters International President James R. Hoffa overrules a Youngstown trial board that ordered the removal of John J. Angelo as secretary-treasurer of Local 377 Teamsters.

1936: Five South Side Youngstown precincts become officially “dry” under local option when Judge Erskine Maiden Jr. dissolves an injunction that had restrained authorities from enforcing dry laws in the district.

Alarmed by the growing number of holdups, representatives of 15 organizations including druggists, dairy stores, oil companies and merchants groups, meet with Youngstown Mayor Lionel Evans to call for stiffer sentences and fewer paroles for robbers.