Today is Monday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2009. There are 325 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2009. There are 325 days left in the year. On this date in 1825, the U.S. House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams president after no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes.

In 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau is established. In 1941, German troops under Gen. Erwin Rommel cross from Italy to North Africa in World War II. In 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ends with an American victory over Japanese forces. In 1964, the Beatles make their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” In 1971, an earthquake near Los Angeles kills at least 64 people. In 1991, approximately 90 percent of those casting ballots in Lithuania’s referendum on independence vote in favor of secession from the Soviet Union. In 1994, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres, Israel’s foreign minister, reach an agreement on security issues that had stalled the Israeli PLO peace accord. In 1998, the United States announces it will send 2,500 to 3,000 Marines to Kuwait, bolstering forces in the latest standoff with Iraq over weapons inspections.

February 9, 1984: The Youngstown Board of Education will require remedial reading courses for high school students who fare poorly on standardized reading tests.

Atty. Thomas Letson tells Warren City Council that the city has the right to force the sale of the Mahoning Building downtown in order to sell the vacant structure to private developers because Warren is an “impacted city” with high unemployment.

February 9, 1969: Evidence is mounting that President Nixon and his Justice Department may take a tough line in combatting the nation’s merger fever, considering the administration’s opposition to the Cyclops-Sharon Steel merger and Combustion Engineering’s acquisition of Ajax Magnethermic Corp. of Warren.

Junior ROTC cadets from Harding and Western Reserve high schools in Warren visit the 910th Squadron at the Air Force Reserve Base at Youngstown Municipal Airport. They get tours of the C-119 “Flying Boxcars” at the air base.

February 9, 1959: Rayen varsity and junior varsity debaters capture the sweepstakes trophy for the third consecutive year at the annual Rotary Invitational Tournament. The win gives them permanent possession of the trophy.

Sharon Steel Corp. and Pittsburgh Steel Co. announce in a joint statement that they have terminated discussion of a proposed merger of the two firms.

Fire destroys the National Plumbing and Fixtures Corp. in New Castle. Damage is estimated at $300,000.

February 9, 1934: The mercury drops to 22 degrees below zero at Canfield, the lowest registered in the area for 22 years.

Thirty students at the Youngs–town College begin earning their tuition under a CWA project approved by E.O. Braught, state relief director, and announced by H.W. Jones, college director.

Two Columbiana County jail prisoners dressed in shirtsleeves slug a jailer and escape into the night with the temperature at eight degrees below zero.