Years Ago

Today is Sunday, Nov. 20, the 324th day of 2011. There are 41 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1620: Peregrine White is born aboard the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay; the first child born of English parents in present-day New England.

1789: New Jersey becomes the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

1911: “Das Lied von der Erde” (The Song of the Earth) by Gustav Mahler is first performed in Munich, Germany, six months after the composer’s death.

1929: The radio program “The Rise of the Goldbergs” debuts on the NBC Blue Network.

1947,: Britain’s future queen, Princess Elizabeth, marries Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey.

1959: The United Nations issues its Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

1967: The U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Clock at the Commerce Department ticks past 200 million.

1969: The Nixon administration announces a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phaseout.

1975: After nearly four decades of absolute rule, Spain’s Gen. Francisco Franco dies, two weeks before his 83rd birthday.

1985: The first version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, is officially released.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Poland Township police are investigating how a 4-hour-old infant came to be abandoned in a car on Blue Ridge Drive.

Niles City Council approves juggling $110,000 between accounts to provide payroll funds that will allow the city to avoid police and fire layoffs.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William Bodoh refuses to order 140 striking workers at Weatherbee Coats Inc. back to work, and Joseph Hardy, president of the company, says he will begin hiring replacements.

Mahoning County commissioners hold budget hearings at a time when the county faces the loss of $1.5 million in federal funds and many department heads are asking for increases in their budgets. Among them are the Domestic Relations Court and bureau of support, which say 11 new employees are needed to meet state requirements for quicker processing.

1971: Two Hubbard youths are killed and five others are injured when two cars filled with teenagers collide with a construction company truck in Coitsville Township. Dead are Paul J. Wray and Michael McKnight, both 16.

Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive on the roof of the Strouss’ parking garage by helicopter. They then joined the 12th annual Christmas parade witnessed by 5,000 people.

George Simsted begins his 19th season as head coach of the Chaney High School basketball team.

1961: With the University of Pittsburgh Panthers trailing 3-0, Quarterback Jim Traficant, a junior from Youngstown, comes off the bench and guides the team to a 10-9 victory over USC.

In a surprise move, three Warren councilman indicted in the city’s bidding scandal appear in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and enter guilty pleas on bribery charges. They are sentenced to 1 to 10 years in prison.

1936: President Frank Purnell announces improvements costing about $10 million at the Campbell, Brier Hill and Chicago plants of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.

Dealers report selling two dozen cars so far at the auto show at Stambaugh Auditorium, which has been attended by 15,000.