Years Ago

Today is Sunday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2012. There are 330 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1762: An estimated 30,000 Sikhs are slain by Muslims in Punjab in present-day India.

1783: Sweden recognizes the independence of the United States.

1811: George, the Prince of Wales, is named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain’s King George III.

1887: Verdi’s opera “Otello” premieres at La Scala.

1917: Congress passes, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians.

Mexico’s constitution is adopted.

1922: The first edition of Reader’s Digest is published.

1937: President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices; critics accuse Roosevelt of attempting to “pack” the nation’s highest court. (The proposal fails in Congress.)

1940: Glenn Miller and his orchestra record “Tuxedo Junction” for RCA Victor’s Bluebird label.

1958: Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic (a union of Syria and Egypt).

1971: Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell step onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.

1989: The Soviet Union announces that all but a small rear-guard contingent of its troops have left Afghanistan.

VINDICATOR FILES

1987: Youngstown city and school district officials meet to discuss ways in which they can cooperate, including a plan to save money by entering into a joint purchasing agreement.

Employees of the Youngstown & Souther Railway, a subsidiary of the P&LERR, express concern that they may lose their jobs if the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Agency takes over the short line railroad.

1972: Gerald Harklerode is named acting principal of Cardinal Mooney High School, replacing the Rev. Thomas McCarthy, who will resume parish service at St. Joseph the Provider Church.

Charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors are filed against a 19-year-old Struthers man and 18-year-old Lowellville man, who aided in the escape of five girls from the Mahoning County Research Center.

1962: Brake failure turns a family birthday celebration into a nightmare as four people die and two are seriously injured when their car speeds out of control down Robinson Road Hill in Campbell and hurtles over an embankment onto the P&LERR tracks. Dead are Richard Bonelli, 13, Irene Begala, 47, Lloyd Cogar, 22, and his wife, Jacqueline, also 22.

A trust fund of more than $4 million that will be used for charitable purposes is established in New Castle in the will of Miss Emma Hoyt, 86-year-old sister of Alex Crawford Hoyt, president of the First National Bank of Lawrence County.

Philip “Fleegle” Mainer, a district racketeer identified as kingpin of an Ohio-Pennsylvania burglary ring, surprises a Kittanning, Pa., court by pleading guilty to a charge of burglary in Sharon, Pa., and no contest to three other charges.

Phyllis Cassetto and Lawrence Ryan are honored as “Miss and Mr. Popularity” at the 16th annual Popularity Dance of Youngstown University, sponsored by Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, at the Hotel Pick-Ohio ballroom.

1937: Dr. W.W. Ryall, Youngstown health commissioner, urges people to avoid crowds as influenza spreads. The Youngstown Hospital Association and St. Elizabeth’s announce bans on visitors except in cases of emergency.

Walter Beemer, who got into Scouting four years ago because he wanted his 12-year-old son to be involved, is honored by the Mahoning County Council as Scoutmaster of the Year.

A 10-night meeting of Trotters is announced for the Canfield Fairgrounds, from June 14 through June 26, with the premier event being a $2,500 free-for-all pacing race.

Kirk Stephenson of Youngstown is the president of the senior class at Mount Union College in Alliance.