Years Ago

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 13, the 347th day of 2011. There are 18 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1642: Dutch navigator Abel Tasman sights present-day New Zealand.

1769: Dartmouth College in New Hampshire receives its charter.

1862: Union forces suffer a major defeat to the Confederates in the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg.

1918: President Woodrow Wilson arrives in France, becoming the first chief executive to visit Europe while in office.

1928: George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” has its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York.

1944: During World War II, the U.S. cruiser Nashville is badly damaged in a Japanese kamikaze attack that claims more than 130 lives.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: The FBI, fearing for the safety of Teamsters Union President Jackie Presser, offer him access to a protection plan, but he declines.

Rabbi Samuel Meyer, spiritual leader of Temple El Emeth in Liberty Township, receives two prestigious awards, the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award and Kfar Silver Scholarship Plaque.

1971: Twenty-six children are given television sets from an anonymous donor during the Christmas party sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Thirteen fumbles and two interceptions mark an almost comical game in New Orleans, where the Cleveland Browns prevail over the New Orleans Saints, 21-17.

Petitions containing the names of 3,130 city residents demanding placement on the November ballot of a referendum on a city council-passed zone change are submitted to city clerk Alex T. Yankush.

1961: Youngstown University’s 20-year campus development plan is approved in principle by the planning commission.

A youthful car thief trying to shake off a pursuing deputy sheriff demolishes the stolen car against a tree in front of 2239 Liberty Road, but miraculously escapes serious injury, crawls out and disappears into the nearby woods.

A hooded bandit forces his way into a Struthers home for the second straight night, this time taking $110 from Mrs. Patrick Everley.

1936: Youngstown Mayor Lionel Evans says Ohio’s cities are banding together to fight for a fair distribution of the state sales tax.

The Salem Business Bureau announces that Salem stores will be open until 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights before Christmas.

Sale of Christmas seals by the Mahoning County Tuberculosis League total $3,650 by noon Saturday on the way toward a goal of $8,500. The campaign appears to be on its way toward being the most successful since 1929.