Years Ago

Today is Friday, March 9, the 69th day of 2012. There are 297 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1661: Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the chief minister of France, dies, leaving King Louis XIV in full control.

1796: The future emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, marries Josephine de Beauharnais. (The couple later divorce.)

1861: The Confederate Congress, meeting in Montgomery, Ala., authorizes the issuing of paper currency, in the form of interest-bearing notes.

1862: During the Civil War, the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac) clash for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va.

1916: Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attack Columbus, N.M., killing 18 Americans.

1932: Eamon de Valera is appointed head of government of the Irish Free State.

1945: During World War II, U.S. B-29 bombers launch incendiary bomb attacks against Japan, resulting in an estimated 100,000 deaths.

VINDICATOR FILES

1987: Chrysler Corp. and France’s Renault sign a letter of intent under which the No. 3 automaker would buy American Motors Corp.

The Cafaro Co. says it will go to court to block Mahoning County commissioners from picking any site other than Cafaro’s Garland Plaza as the new site for the offices of the Department of Human Services.

George J. Tablack is congratulated by his father, George D. Tablack, as the son is sworn in as Mahoning County’s new auditor, succeeding Stephen R. “Bushel” Olenick. The elder Tablack is a former state representative and county sheriff.

1972: Four masked, armed bandits surprise the owner and nearly 40 patrons at the West Side Bowling Alley jamming them into a restroom and robbing them of an undetermined amount in cash and valuables.

U.S. Rep. Charles J. Carney, D-Youngstown, is among 130 congressmen voting against a House resolution to severely restrict busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools. The measure passed with 272 votes in favor.

Campbell is preparing to open its new City Hall on Tenney Avenue.

1962: The first iron lung in the nation to be used on a muscular dystrophy patient is helping Charles H. Kollar breathe at his N. Osborne Avenue home in Youngstown,

Jack Meltzer Associates of Chicago is hired by the Youngstown Board of Control to develop a general renewal plan for the Youngstown University area.

U.S. Rep. Michael J. Kirwan of Youngstown tells the New York Port Authority and a gathering of businessmen at the New York Athletic Club that New York would profit from a network of canals that would include the Lake Erie to Ohio River waterway.

1937: Directors of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. declare a dividend of 75 cents a share for the first quarter of 1937, the first dividend paid since 1931.

Eight states, including a wide area of Ohio, are rocked by an earthquake. Only a few Youngstowners report feeling the tremors, which struck at 12:45 a.m.

Youngstown City Engineer Albert R. Haenny plans to push a $350,000 WPA program for the improvement of the Crab Creek District sewer system.