YEARS AGO

Today is Thursday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2014. There are 69 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1707: The first Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, has its first meeting.

1864: Forces led by Union Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis repel Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price’s army in the Civil War Battle of Westport in Missouri.

1915: Tens of thousands of women march in New York City, demanding the right to vote.

1935: Mobster Dutch Schultz, 34, is shot and mortally wounded with three other men during a gangland hit at the Palace Chophouse in Newark, N.J. (Schultz died the following day.)

1942: During World War II, Britain launches a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt, resulting in an Allied victory.

1944: The World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf begins, resulting in a major Allied victory against Japanese forces.

1954: West Germany is invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which it did the following year.

1956: A student-sparked revolt against Hungary’s Communist rule begins; as the revolution spreads, Soviet forces start entering the country, and the uprising is put down within weeks.

1983: A total of 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, are killed in a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces kills 58 paratroopers.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Dr. David P. Ruggles, dean of the School of Education at Youngstown State University, says he doesn’t foresee a teacher shortage in the area, even though recruiters from Las Vegas, Florida, California and Colorado come to YSU to recruit teachers.

Simon Roofing & Sheet Metal Corp. wins a $250,000 contract to repair hurricane damage at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.

A total of 814 runners finish the International Peace Race 10K race, which followed a new course that highlighted the beauty of Mill Creek Park. Salvador Garcia of Mexico is first across the line with a time of 27:54.

1974: A whiskey-bottle firebomb thrown through a window sparks a fire that guts the lavish front office of Dr. Richard Murray’s office and home at 2125 Glenwood Ave. Dr. Murray’s pet ocelot and five rare birds are saved by firemen and caretaker Albert Mazei.

Youngstown public schoolteachers’ salaries will be increased by $600 in January, bringing their base pay to $8,050.

At its halfway point, the Youngstown Area United Appeal campaign reports $959,073, about 46.8 percent of the $1.9 million goal.

1964: Three bodies are found in the smoldering ruins of the Metzger Hotel in downtown Salem, which housed many retired people.

Paul L. Brun, general manager of the Manufacturing Division of Republic Steel, is the new president of the Industrial Information Institute.

Directors of the Mahoning Chapter, American Red Cross, re-elect Walter H. Paulo to his second term as chairman.

1939: Mrs. Arthur Fisher of Girard arrives in the United States, one of the last survivors to come home from the sinking of the torpedoed Athenia. Her son, Arthur Jr., a sophomore at Girard High School, is listed as lost and presumed dead.

An address by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at Stambaugh Auditorium is expected to be a sell-out.

Mill Creek Park is at the peak of its autumn coloring and is expected to attract thousands of visitors over the next few days.