Years Ago

Today is Monday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2014. There are 16 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1791: The Bill of Rights takes effect following ratification by Virginia.

1814: The “Hartford Convention” begins as New England Federalists opposed to the War of 1812 secretly gather in the Connecticut capital. (America’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans and the war’s end effectively discredited the Convention.)

1864: The two-day Battle of Nashville begins during the Civil War as Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas attack Confederate troops led by Gen. John Bell Hood; the result is a resounding Northern victory.

1890: Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members are killed in Grand River, S.D., during a confrontation with Indian police.

1938: Groundbreaking for the Jefferson Memorial takes place in Washington, D.C., with President Franklin D. Roosevelt taking part in the ceremony.

1944: The U.S. Senate approves the promotions of Henry H. Arnold, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall to the five-star rank of general of the Army and the nominations of William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King and Chester W. Nimitz as admirals of the Fleet.

A single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Force, disappears over the English Channel while en route to Paris.

1964: Canada’s House of Commons approves dropping the country’s “Red Ensign” flag in favor of a new design, the “Maple Leaf” flag.

1965: Two U.S. manned spacecraft, Gemini 6A and Gemini 7, maneuver to within 10 feet of each other while in orbit.

1974: The horror spoof “Young Frankenstein,” starring Gene Wilder and directed by Mel Brooks, is released by 20th Century Fox.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Some 2,400 employees at Warren Consolidated Industries receive profit-sharing checks averaging $3,000. Renco Group Inc. reported sales of 650,000 tons for the year.

Packard Electric Division of General Motors announces the temporary layoff of 2,170 employees as a result of slumping car sales.

The Youngstown Area United Way announces 1990 allocations of $3.6 million to its 34 affiliated agencies and an additional $76,449 for new programs.

1974: The Youngstown Hospital Association begins an orderly shutdown of the North and South units and Tod Babies’ and Children’s hospital in anticipation of a strike by registered nurses Dec. 23.

Four people walk away from two separate crashes of light planes in Mahoning County. Pilots were Jeffrey Brotherton, 20, and James R. Walton, 44, and passengers were Gary R. Young and Kenneth Roons.

Terry Bradshaw passes for two touchdowns and Franco Harris breaks the 1,000-yard mark as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-3, in the NFL season finale. The Steelers take a 10-3-1 record into the playoffs against the visiting Buffalo Bills.

1964: Dr. James A. MacDonald, 92, founder and first pastor of the old South U.P. Church and pastor emeritus of John Knox U.P. Church, dies in Richmond, Ind. Born in Nova Scotia, Dr. MacDonald began his Youngstown ministry in 1912.

Youngstown Sheet & Tube orders a steel degassing unit to be installed at a cost of several million dollars at its Brier Hill plant. The unit makes a better quality of steel.

Dr. Seymour Shagrin, speaking at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church Ladies Guild, says surveys show more than half the school children have foot ailments.

1939: Youngstown public schools, Ursuline High School and Youngstown College close for the Christmas holiday and classes will not resume until Jan. 2. Parochial grade school children will not begin their vacation until Dec. 22.

A 75-foot crane topples from the B&O Railroad tracks, and its boom destroys five automobiles parked north of the B&O station.

A raging fire of undetermined origin destroys the Trails End Tavern owned by James Wells in Vienna Township. Firemen were able to save the next door garage owned by H.L. Viets.