Years Ago

Today is Friday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2011. There are 330 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

A.D. 211: Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus dies at age 65.

1783: Britain’s King George III proclaims a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

1789: Electors choose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

1932: New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opens the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

1941: The United Service Organizations (USO) comes into existence.

1961: Angola begins its war of independence from Portuguese colonial rule. (Independence was achieved in 1975, followed by a 27-year civil war.)

1974: Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: U.S. Rep. Thomas Ridge of Erie, Pa., R-21st, attacks a proposal by FEMA bureaucrats to encourage disaster victims to find their own housing rather than seek government aid.

Robert Kennedy, president of the USW local representing workers at Copperweld Steel Co., will work with management to restore the company to profitability, but suppliers, bankers and local government must also share in the sacrifices.

Joseph Levy, who closed the 20th Century Restaurant, says he got tired of the 12-hour days and being constantly on call that is required in running a restaurant.

1971: Francis Murphy, 38-year-old owner of the Carlon Corner bar on Rigby Street, is pistol-whipped and shot two armed robbers.

Youngstown City Council President John Hudzik announces that he is withdrawing as a Democratic candidate for mayor and is resigning his position as president of city council.

About 60 striking members of Public Employees Union Local 506A virtually shut down operations in the Trumbull County Courthouse and the Administration Building.

Youngstown finance department officials are certifying uncollected sidewalk assessments to the real estate tax duplicate, where they will be collected over five years at a cost of 14 percent more than cash payment.

1961: Youngstown digs out from eight to 12 inches of snow, but forecasters say the worst is over.

Six people miraculously escape serious injury when a tremendous explosion destroys a North Lima service station. The blast was felt throughout the town.

1936: Mayor Lionel Evans says he is determined to split the city’s insurance business, most of which is booked with the George Bruce co., among all reputable agents in Youngstown.

Howard Price is elected head of the St. David Society in Youngstown, succeeding Mordecai Humphreys.

About 150 men who sell Truscon Steel Co. products all over the United States flock to Youngstown for a four-day sales convention designed to boost sales of Youngstown-made steel.