Years Ago

Today is Tuesday, May 31, the 151st day of 2011. There are 214 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1889: More than 2,000 people perish when a dam break sends water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.

1911: The hull of the British liner RMS Titanic is launched from its building berth at the Port of Belfast, less than a year before the ship’s fateful maiden voyage.

1977: The trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, is completed.

1985: At least 88 people are killed, more than 1,000 injured, as over 40 tornadoes sweep through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Ontario, Canada, during an eight-hour period.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Gov. Richard Celeste visits Niles on the one-year anniversary of a deadly tornado and praises the area for an “unprecedented effort of cooperation” in recovering from the effects of the storm.

Autoworkers on the second shift at the General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown will go on an experimental 4-day, 10-hour shift work week.

1971: The Youngstown district registers eight traffic deaths during the Memorial Day weekend, the worst toll in recent years.

Fred DeLuca, manager of the Youngstown Municipal Airport, scores a grade of 115 on the civil service test for permanent appointment to the post. He was the only applicant to take the test.

1961: A.J. Foyt wins the Indianapolis 500 in a car built by Floyd Trevis of 3721 Loveland Ave., Youngstown. The car is powered by a 4-cylinder Offenhouser. A second Trevis car, driven by rookie Don Davis, formerly of Warren, finished 29th.

In a decision written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are permitted to have blue laws that establish a day of rest without running afoul of constitutional prohibitions against establishment of a religion. Justice William Douglas dissents, noting that enforcing Sunday as a day of rest implicates the state in religious matters.

A sun-drenched throng estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 line Federal Street and Central Square for Youngstown’s annual Memorial Day parade.

1936: A 4-year-old girl, her father and her grandmother are killed when their automobile is struck by a fast Pennsylvania freight train on the Struthers-Lowellville road crossing. Dead are Stamatis Stamatakis, 42; Katherine Stamatakis, 4, and Olga Fistouri, 62.

Bugles blare, drums tap, bagpipes skirl and artillery roars as Youngstown marks Memorial Day with parades and cemetery observances.