years ago

Today is Sunday, Jan. 1, the first day of Leap Year 2012. There are 365 days left in the year.

Associated Press

On this date in:

1863: President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states are free.

1890: The first Tournament of Roses is held in Pasadena, Calif.

1913: The U.S. Parcel Post system goes into operation.

1942: The Rose Bowl is played in Durham, N.C., because of security concerns in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack; Oregon State defeats Duke, 20-16.

1953: Country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, is discovered dead in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, W. Va., while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio.

1959: Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrow Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista, who flees to the Dominican Republic.

1962: The first two U.S. Navy SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) teams are created.

1994: The North American Free Trade Agreement goes into effect.

2002: The euro becomes legal tender in 12 European nations.

Vindicator files

1987: Youngstown Hospital Association, St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center and Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren all announce rate increases ranging from 9 to 13 percent

Liberty Local School District teachers go on strike after they fail to win a contract that would provided increases of 7 percent each of the first two years and 11 percent in the third year.

1972: A daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Angelo Vitelli at 1:33 a.m. in North Side Hospital is Youngstown’s first baby of the new year.

Youngstown police arrest a 16-year-old East Side youth for shooting to death Steve Horanski, 54, outside Horanski’s Highlander Tavern on Dec. 11.

Spring-like temperatures on New Year’s Day entice area golfers onto the links. Pictured at Rolling Hills Golf Course at New Bedford are Dick Hetrick, Bob White, Bob Schell, Joe Petrick and Bill Rickard.

1962: Youngstown’s new mayor, Harry Savasten, says there will be a full investigation to determine if there has been any “improper conduct” on the part of city employees. He vows to rid City Hall of undesirable employees.

U.S. Steel Corp.’s Youngstown District plant set an all-time safety record in 1961, working 10 times safer than some other U.S. Steel plants.

1937: Youngstown forged ahead to industrial prosperity in 1936 and its steel plants are looking for even better days in 1937, despite an early setback caused by striking autoworkers in Detroit

Frank E. Flynn’s home at 2272 Fifth Avenue wins the Vindicator-Electrical League contest as the area’s most spectacularly decorated house. Runners up are Dr. William A. Welsh, John W. Swartz and John Hunn.