Years Ago

Today is Wednesday, July 23, the 204th day of 2014. There are 161 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1885: Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, dies in Mount McGregor, New York, at age 63.

1886: A legend is born as Steve Brodie claims to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into New York’s East River. (However, there are doubts about whether the dive actually took place.)

1914: Austria-Hungary presents a list of demands to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; Serbia’s refusal to agree to the entire ultimatum leads to World War I.

1945: French Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the Vichy government during World War II, goes on trial, charged with treason. (His death sentence was commuted.)

1951: Henri Petain dies in prison.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: The Cleveland Browns, with quarterback Bernie Kosar, open training camp at Lakeland Community College. First-round draft choice Eric Metcalf isn’t at camp; he’s a contract holdout.

The site of the Mahoning County Home in Canfield from 1897 to 1962 is sold to B & J Enterprises of Canfield for $459,000, plus $110,000 in back taxes. Questions remain about whether there are unmarked paupers’ graves of former residents on the 233-acre tract.

1974: Pope Paul VI appoints the Rev. Msgr. William A. Hughes, vicar general of the Youngstown Diocese, as auxiliary bishop. His ordination will be Sept. 12 in St. Columba Cathedral.

Four to six members of the Youngstown Police Department who have pleaded guilty to participating in a burglary ring of department members may be offered jobs in other city departments. Mayor Jack C. Hunter denied the new jobs are tied to the officers’ cooperation during the investigation.

1964: An ordinance authorizing a new 20-year water agreement for the village of McDonald is approved by Niles City Council.

The Crooks Bottle Gas Co. near Warren is destroyed, but firefighters kept propane tanks from exploding. The loss is estimated at $15,000.

1939: The General Contractors and Builders Association serves notice on Carpenters and Joiners Union Local 171 that its officers and members will be held liable for damages resulting from a jurisdictional strike that is tying up work on Youngstown’s $3.5 million Westlake housing project.

Lowellville is preparing for a four-day celebration to dedicate its new $60,000 WPA-constructed City Hall.