Years Ago

Today is Friday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2011. There are 78 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1066: Normans under William the Conqueror defeat the English at the Battle of Hastings.

1890: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, is born in Denison, Texas.

1912: Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the presidency, is shot in the chest in Milwaukee. Despite the wound, he goes ahead with a scheduled speech.

1944: German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commits suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

1947: Air Force test pilot Charles E. (“Chuck”) Yeager breaks the sound barrier as he flies the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

1961: The Frank Loesser musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” starring Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch, opens on Broadway.

VINDICATOR FILES

1986: Forbes magazine names Youngstown Developer Edward J. DeBartolo as one of America’s richest men, estimating his worth at $900 million, which a Forbes researcher says is conservative. DeBartolo, the researcher says, is probably a billionaire.

Youngstown State University has the lowest crime rate of the eight state-supported universities, according to FBI statistics.

1971: The last of six labor unions which began negotiating with the city for new work agreements nine months ago accepts the city’s latest offer.

William H. Muldoon, 85, a leader in the public transportation field in Youngstown and Akron for almost a half century, dies in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 85.

The Mahoning Valley Historical Society registers receipt of 383 separate items of historic interest in the Valley, including a portrait of Judge William Rayen, part of a bequest under the will of the late Mrs. Robert Parmelee of Bennington, Va.

1961: New Castle police arrest two men who were allegedly “casing” the South Side Branch of Peoples National Bank. Three women employees at the bank identify one of the men as the robber who escaped with $19,382 during a daring daytime robbery of the bank in March.

Philip H. Schaff, 75, of 1525 Fifth Ave., retired president of the Peoples Bank of Youngstown and a civic figure for many years, dies at his residence after a long illness.

The usually crowded skies over the Youngstown area are empty of aircraft except for military jets during “Sky Shield II,” an air defense activity.

1936: City Engineer A.R. Haenny says a revision of South Side bus stops will eliminate 94 present loading stations when trackless trolleys go into operation.

Assistant Law Director H.H. Hunt tells the Optimist Club that repeal of the city charter will cost Youngstown taxpayers between $40,000 and $50,000 for three special elections over the next year.