Years Ago

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 26, the 57th day of 2013. There are 308 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from exile on the Island of Elba.

1913: “Brillo,” described as an “aluminum-cleanser,” is registered for trademark by Philip J. Brady of New York.

1919: President Woodrow Wilson signs a measure establishing Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

1940: The United States Air Defense Command is created.

1945: Authorities order a midnight curfew at night clubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.

1962: After becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, astronaut John Glenn tells a joint meeting of Congress, “Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge have always paid dividends in the long run.”

1970: National Public Radio is incorporated.

1993: A truck bomb built by terrorists explodes in the parking garage of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

VINDICATOR FILES

1988: U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., D-17th, says he will ask Secretary of State Sherrod Brown to investigate allegations that petitions for his presidential bid filed in southern Ohio contained fraudulent signatures.

B.J. Alan Co. will be forced to double or even triple the price of its fireworks now that the Youngstown distributor is prohibited from shipping with the United Parcel Service, says company president Bruce J. Zoldan.

1973: L.V. Thomas, 47, jumps from his stalled car moments before a Penn Central freight train slammed into it at the Depot Street crossing in Sharon, Pa.

The Rotary Club of Struthers unveils a brass plaque in front of the City Building honoring seven men who won the Silver Beaver Award, Boy Scouting’s highest adult honor, over 25 years. The honorees are Gus Arp, Howard Cooper, Leonard Panella, Donald Garrett, James Lawrence, Robert Young and Les Lee.

1963: The March 12 issue of Look magazine goes on sale at newsstands with a 15-page layout on Youngstown’s gangland murders and bombings. Prominently featured is a Vindicator photo of the car in which Charles “Cadillac Charlie” Cavallaro and his 11-year-old son died.

Atty. Jack Nybell tells Judge Sidney Rigelhaupt that police have prearranged some arrests of bug men to give the impression that there is a crackdown on the numbers operations in Youngstown.

General Motors is denying widespread reports that it has immediate plans for construction of a new plant on property the company owns in Lordstown Township in Trumbull County.

1938: Municipal Court Judge William B. Spagnola dismisses traffic charges against two motorists arrested by a single traffic officer, saying that the word of the motorist was just as good as that of the policeman. Youngstown Traffic Commissioner Clarence W. Coppersmith says it is impossible for the city to man every traffic cruiser with two officers.

Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Cleveland Diocese bans bingo during Lent on church property or anywhere else if the proceeds benefit the church.