YEARS AGO

years ago

Today is Saturday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2015. There are 75 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1777: British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrender to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

1814: The London Beer Flood inundates the St. Giles district of the British capital as vats of beer rupture, sending more than 320,000 gallons of liquid into the streets; up to nine people are reported killed.

1915: Playwright Arthur Miller, author of “Death of a Salesman” and “The Crucible,” is born in New York.

1919: Radio Corp. of America was chartered.

1931: Mobster Al Capone is convicted of income-tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.)

1933: Albert Einstein arrives in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

1945: Col. Juan Peron, the future president of Argentina, is released from prison after protests by trade unionists.

1956: The all-star movie “Around the World in 80 Days,” produced by Michael Todd, has its world premiere in New York.

1965: The musical “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever,” with a score by Burton Lane and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, opens on Broadway. Also in New York, the World’s Fair closes.

1979: Mother Teresa of India is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1989: An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale strikes northern California, killing 63 people and causing $6 billion worth of damage.

1990: The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) is created.

1995: President Bill Clinton tells wealthy contributors at a Houston fund-raiser, “You think I raised your taxes too much. It might surprise you to know that I think I raised them too much, too” – a statement that draws criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

2005: A two-man Chinese space crew lands in China’s northern grasslands after five days in orbit.

2010: Pope Benedict XVI gives Australia its first saint, canonizing Mary MacKillop, a 19th-century nun who was briefly excommunicated in part because her religious order had exposed a pedophile priest.

2014: The World Health Organization acknowledges it had botched attempts to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, blaming factors including incompetent staff, lack of information and budget cuts.

VINDICATOR FILES

1990: Trumbull County commissioners envision a two-phase, multimillion-dollar plan to renovate the Stone Building, Carnegie Building Courthouse and other structures.

Russell “Pappy” Thomas Jr., described by police as one of the oldest and most-arrested criminals in the area, is sentenced to six months after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property and two other felonies. Thomas, 74, has been arrested 86 times.

Gloria Jurick, the leader of a petition drive to get crossing guards at Youngstown elementary schools, calls for the resignation of four school board members who voted to table the issue for three weeks.

1975: Youngstown State University has the highest enrollment in its history, approximately 15,500.

Representatives of three Youngstown credit unions break ground for their new office building at East Federal Street and South Avenue in the East End Urban Renewal Area.

University of Arkansas backfield coach “Bo” Rein says Ron Calcagni, Chaney All-City product, is “just a heartbeat away from starting a game.”

1965: A group of demonstrators marches in front of the Youngstown Post Office calling for the United States to withdraw its forces from Vietnam.

Mahoning County would be divided into 81st, 82nd and 83rd state representative districts under a reapportioning plan submitted to a federal court panel in Cincinnati.

New Wilmington PTA gives a crash course in the “new math” to 135 parents.

1940: On the last day to register for the draft, a woman goes to the Mahoning County Board of Elections and attempts to register. She is told that the draft is limited to men.

Youngstown’s three municipal judges won’t be able to use their new quarters in the Municipal Building for at least several months because city council tabled an ordinance transferring $1,900 needed for furniture.

Members of the Sts. Peter and Paul Church choir will present a five-act war drama written by the pastor, the Rev. Stephen Musiychuk, who has written 30 plays for children and church groups.