Today is Friday, March 14, the 74th day of 2008. There are 292 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Friday, March 14, the 74th day of 2008. There are 292 days left in the year. On this date in 1794, Eli Whitney receives a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry.

In 1900, Congress ratifies the Gold Standard Act. In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt signs an executive order designed to prevent Japanese laborers from immigrating to the United States as part of a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Japan. In 1923, President Harding becomes the first chief executive to file an income tax return. In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia is dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.

March 14, 1983: A Mahoning Valley Salute to General Motors is being planned at the Eastwood Mall, which will be a unique program in the country, according to Charles Abernathy, plant manager of the GM Assembly Division at Lordstown.

Boardman Park’s second annual maple syrup festival is attended by more than 5,900 people. Boardman Rotarians flipped 6,069 pancakes and as many sausages

The Boardman High School Orchestra receives a first place rating during state orchestra competition and is preparing for national competition in St. Louis, Mo., in April.

March 14, 1968: Crimes committed in Youngstown during 1967 increased 37 percent over 1966 and serious crimes increased 16 percent. Homicides more than doubled, from 7 to 15.

The Youngstown Board of Education meets with Mayor Anthony B. Flask and other top city officials to discuss a program to improve cooperative efforts toward the betterment of city schools and the community in general.

A 19-year-old Marion Avenue man is arrested on a charge of assault after clubbing a 13-year-old boy who was one of three boys throwing snow balls at passing cars on Belmont Avenue.

March 14, 1958: Youngstown steel operations will slump 4 or 5 percent to about 47 percent of capacity with cutbacks that will idle about 3,000 more workers. Three open hearths will be shut down and the salaried workforce at Youngstown Sheet Tube Co. will be cut by 20 percent.

Prof. Vern L. Burrough of the history department of Youngstown University is named chairman of the Youngstown Civil Liberties Union.

March 14, 1933: Sixty-seven banks in 16 of Ohio’s largest cities offer depositors normal services for the first time since President Roosevelt proclaimed a national banking holiday.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron expands from a two-day week to a three-day week. Hours had been reduced because of the banking holiday.