YEARS AGO

Today is Friday, April 10, the 100th day of 2015. There are 265 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1790: President George Washington signs the first United States Patent Act.

1815: The Mount Tambora volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa explodes in one of the largest eruptions in recorded history, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.

1864: Maximilian, archduke of Austria, is proclaimed emperor of Mexico.

1865: Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a day after surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, says farewell to his men, praising them for their “unsurpassed courage and fortitude.”

1912: The RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

1925: The novel “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age evocation of empty materialism, shattered illusion and thwarted romance, is first published by Scribner’s of New York.

1932: German President Paul Von Hindenburg is re-elected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.

1947: Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchases the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals.

1953: The 3-D horror movie “House of Wax,” produced by Warner Bros. and starring Vincent Price, premieres in New York.

1963: The fast-attack nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) sinks during deep-diving tests east of Cape Cod, Mass.,in a disaster that claims 129 lives.

1974: Golda Meir informs party leaders she is resigning as prime minister of Israel.

VINDICATOR FILES

1990: Mahoning County and Youngstown officials are trying to join forces to shift numerous vacant downtown properties from the delinquent tax rolls to the hands of new owners.

Howland Board of Education, seeking to save $600,000, non-renews the contracts of eight certified and two non-certified employees for the 1990-91 school year.

Developers scale back plans for a marina at Lake Milton because state officials do not believe the initial proposal would have raised enough money to make the investment pay off.

1975: The A&P food chain is closing four district stores, including the one at Austintown Plaza, two in Warren and one in Newton Falls.

The Ohio House approves a bill providing criminal penalties for all casino-style gambling, including that done for charity. Churches and fraternal organizations will still be permitted to have bingo and raffles.

Dr. Eugene Dodd Scudder of Poland, a member of the Youngstown State University faculty for 38 years and chairman of the chemistry department, dies at 81.

1965: Nine Youngstown University students with straight “A” records are given awards at YU’s Honors Day. The perfect-record students are: Linda Baynham, Miriam Keeling, Helen Yozwiak, Phyllis Schuller, Phyllis Frank, Mildred Russell, Gary Kirkland, Robert Balson and Ronald Tabak.

Hail the size of ping pong balls falls on the Cincinnati area doing heavy damage to roofs, trees and overhead wiring.

1940: Valley Atty. J.C. Argetsinger, vice president and general counsel of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., tells the Junior Chamber of Commerce that Youngstown will win its fight tor waterway transportation.

Avis Clamitz Shulman, who has lived in various parts of Palestine, speaks at Youngstown College on life in Palestine, where educated and uneducated Jews from Europe and the United States work side by side in the fields.

Austin Latimer, chief executive assistant to Postmaster James J. Farley, delivers the principal address at the dedication of the new Hubbard post office before a crowd of 500.