YEARS AGO FOR JAN. 26

Today is Friday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2018. There are 339 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1531: A major earthquake strikes Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal; an estimated 30,000 people die.

1784: Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness over the choice of the bald eagle as the symbol of America, and states his preference: the turkey.

1837: Michigan becomes the 26th state.

1979: Former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller dies in New York at age 70.

1998: President Bill Clinton forcefully denies having an affair with a former White House intern, telling reporters, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

2013: Thousands of people, many holding signs with names of gun-violence victims, join a rally in Washington, D.C., for gun control.

2017: Tensions flare between President Donald Trump and Mexico, with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto scrapping a planned visit to Washington and the White House threatening a 20 percent tax on imports to pay for Trump’s proposed wall along the southern border.

Actor Mike Connors, 91, who starred as TV’s private eye “Mannix,” dies in Los Angeles, and actress Barbara Hale, 94, who played steadfast secretary Della Street on “Perry Mason,” dies at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

VINDICATOR FILES

1993: Boy Scout councils from Trumbull, Mahoning and Geauga counties may soon merge, forming one of Ohio’s largest councils.

City and theater officials say they have no intention of stopping the nude performance of “Oh! Calcutta” at Powers Auditorium despite state claims that a nude performance would violate state law because the auditorium has a liquor license.

Sister Susan Schorsten will leave her post as president and CEO of St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center in June and will move to Washington, D.C., to continue her education at Washington Theological Union.

1978: A mass of arctic air from Canada collides with warm air over Ohio, creating blizzard conditions in the Mahoning Valley with winds reaching 65 mph.

The Mahoning Valley Economic Development Committee Inc. will need $1 million over the next five years to lure new industry to the area, says Dr. Charles W. Minshell of the Battelle Memorial Institute. He says the effort could result in 20,000 new jobs.

Jeff Lampkin defeats Lenny Villers in the 165-pound class at the 50th annual Golden Gloves Tournament while Lou Irizarri defeats Harry Grafton in the 135 Novice Class and Lenny Mancini drops DeWayne Wright 31 seconds into their 147-pound clash.

1968: President Johnson’s callup of some Air Force and Navy Reserve units after the Pueblo incident apparently strengthens the chances that the Air Force unit at Youngstown Municipal Airport will be retained indefinitely.

William Hochadel, Girard insurance agent, is named the Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Citizen during a dinner at the Elks Club.

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. will blow in its long-idled Jeannette blast furnace at its Brier Hill Works as district steelmaking operations reach 90 percent of capacity.

1943: The piano duo of Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin play to perfection at a Monday Musical Club performance at Stambaugh Auditorium.

Mrs. Agnes Tracy of Wickliffe, Ohio, has donated 5 pints of blood to the Red Cross for five good reasons: a brother in Libya, a nephew who is missing, two brothers-in-law in service and her old home in England that was destroyed by bombs.

Alta Jean MacDonald and Paul Saultis have prominent roles in “George Washington Slept Here,” the popular Kaufman-Hart play being presented by the Youngstown Players at the Playhouse on Market Street.