Years Ago

Today is Sunday, Sept. 14, the 257th day of 2014. There are 108 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1814: Francis Scott Key is inspired to begin writing the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry” after witnessing how an American flag flying over the Maryland fort had withstood a night of British bombardment during the War of 1812; the poem later became the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

1861: The first naval engagement of the Civil War takes place as the USS Colorado attacks and sinks the Confederate private schooner Judah off Pensacola, Fla.

1901: President William McKinley dies in Buffalo, N.Y., of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeds him.

1914: Actor Clayton Moore, TV’s “Lone Ranger,” is born in Chicago.

1927: Modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan dies in Nice, France, when her scarf becomes tangled in a wheel of the sports car she was riding in.

1954: The Soviet Union detonates a 40-kiloton atomic test weapon.

1964: Pope Paul VI opens the third session of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, also known as “Vatican II.” (The session closed two months later.)

The submarine adventure series “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” premieres on ABC-TV.

1975: Pope Paul VI declares Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton the first U.S.-born saint.

1982: Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly actress Grace Kelly, dies at age 52 of injuries from a car crash the day before.

1984: The first MTV Video Music Awards are at New York’s Radio City Music Hall; The Cars win Video of the Year for “You Might Think,” but singer Madonna steals the show with a provocative performance of “Like a Virgin.”

1989: Madonna divorces actor Sean Penn after four years of marriage.

1994: On the 34th day of a strike by players, Acting Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announces the 1994 season is over.

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Packard Electric expects to duel with its Japanese rival, Yazaki, for a big increase in the global market as Europe plans to lower its trade barriers, says Rudolph A. Schlais, general manager of Packard.

A hearing officer recommends that the State Medical Board revoke the license of Youngstown plastic surgeon Richard D. Murray for improperly prescribing steroids.

Despite reservations, the Warren Board of Education votes 4-1 to consolidate the city’s two high schools, saying it will save nearly $700,000 in the first year.

1974: The Rev. Richard Madden, OCD, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a Mass on Sept. 22 at St. Columba Cathedral.

The Youngstown Civil Service Commission gives out applications to 16 women for examinations for patrolmen in the Youngstown Police Department, the first time in recent history that the tests will be open to both men and women.

Chaney High’s brilliant quarterback Ron Calcagni leads the Cowboys to a 34-7 victory, dissecting the defense of Campbell Memorial before 4,500 fans.

1964: Youngstown University welcomes 2,000 full-time freshmen with weekend activities that included a picnic at Wick Park and a dance in the faculty parking lot.

Copperweld Steel Co. will spend $370,000 for a new continuous casting line at Warren.

1939: Hundreds of men, some of whom hadn’t worked for two years, are recalled to Youngstown steel plants as production capacity climbs another four points, to 76 percent.

Joe Hoza, Wilson Avenue gasoline station operator, pleads not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting of 16-year-old Hilda Martin, who was a passenger in a car of young people heckling Hoza after purchasing gas. He told police he fired when he thought someone was going to throw something at him.

Campaign director Charles Atkinson says 1,200 season tickets have been sold for the 1939-40 concert season of the Youngstown Symphony, which is good, but there are another 1,200 seats to be sold in Stambaugh Auditorium before the campaign is considered a success. Seats are $3 and $4 each for the seven concerts.