Years Ago

Today is Sunday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2011. There are 321 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1861: Abraham Lincoln is officially declared winner of the 1860 presidential election.

1935: A jury in Flemington, N.J., finds Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-slaying of the son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann is later executed.)

1945: During World War II, Allied planes begin bombing the German city of Dresden.

1961: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announces that three statues in its collection, supposedly Etruscan terra cotta warriors, are, in fact, forgeries.

1991: During Operation Desert Storm, allied warplanes destroy an underground shelter in Baghdad that had been identified as a military command center; Iraqi officials say 500 civilians were killed.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Niles Mayor John P. Shaffer says the city is recalling two firemen, two policemen and a dispatcher who were laid off because of a lack of funds, but he is unsure of how long they will be able to be kept on the job.

Youngstown State University’s new coach, Jim Tressel, says he is pleased with the 22 players he’s signed for the team, though he acknowledges that “we didn’t get every player we were after.”

1971: All nine J.C. Penney stores in the Youngstown area will remain closed until 1 p.m. to mark the death of founder James Cash Penney, who visited the Mahoning Valley several times.

Jack B. Tamarkin, a vice president of Tamarkin Co., is the newly elected member of the Youngstown Hospital Association’s 15-member board.

Former Youngstown City Council President John Hudzik officially withdraws as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for mayor.

1961: Dr. J. Harry Wanamaker, superintendent of Youngstown schools, says the free lunch program has been a life saver for 2,000 students during a long period of high unemployment.

Nearly 350 people attend the 23rd annual Brotherhood Banquet at Temple Emanu-El. Catholic Bishop James Malone is the speaker.

1936: There’s renewed hope for the Youngstown slum clearance project after President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces a 10-year federal low cost housing and slum clearance plan.

Three hundred warrants are ready to be served on motorists who were given “courtesy cards” for illegal parking but have neglected to pay a $1 fine.

Police Prosecutor David Neiman drops lottery charges against two “American Bank” number runners and recommends police be more careful about having probable cause before they search or arrest “bug men.”