Today is Sunday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2009. There are 319 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Sunday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2009. There are 319 days left in the year. On this date in 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blows up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1764, the city of St. Louis is established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau. In 1809, American inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick, creator of the first successful horse-drawn mechanical reaper, is born in Rockbridge County, Va. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escapes an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounds Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara is executed four weeks later. In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrenders to the Japanese during World War II. In 1961, 73 people, including the 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to Czechoslovakia, are killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium. In 1989, the Soviet Union announces that the last of its troops have left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

February 15, 1984: The Youngstown Planning Commission approves a zone change to allow construction of a $3.2 million senior citizen housing complex on Market Street, across from South High School.

Producer Frank Kenley says he’s ready to sign right now to bring summer stock theater back to Warren if the city can assure him of making some improvements to the Packard Music Hall.

The PUCO approves a $2 per month increase in Ohio Bell Telephone Co. phone service, which will bring charges for unlimited residential service to $14.95 a month. .

February 15, 1969: James P. Griffin, director of District 26 of the United Steelworkers of America since 1947 and a top figure in the international union, said unofficial voting reports appear to give victory to his opponent, Frank Leseganich.

Fred Tod Jr. is elected president of the board of trustees of the Youngstown Hospital Association, succeeding Paul Wick. The YHA budget reaches $18 million a year and in 1968, it served 29,548 inpatients and more than 100,000 outpatients.

The musical Atkin sisters, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Atkin of Newton Falls, will appear on the Gene Carroll TV show in Cleveland. The girls have appeared with the Tex Ritter Cavalcade of Stars and other talent shows.

February 15, 1959: Thousands of books needed by Youngstown University students to prepare for their life work will be the goal of the Association of Friends of the Youngstown University Library as it conducts its 22nd annual appeal for funds.

Clingan Jackson, veteran Vindicator political editor who has served Ohio in a number of capacities, is being considered by Gov. Michael DiSalle for reappointment to the Ohio Pardon and Parole Commission.

Nine of grand opera’s most popular masterpieces will be presented by the Metropolitan Opera Co. of New York in a seven-day spring festival in Cleveland, marking its 34th season in Public Hall.

February 15, 1934: Figuring the height of a telegraph pole when one fifth of the pole is in mud, one-third in water and the remainder is 28 feet in the air is one of the problems given to 511 applicants taking a five-page test in Youngstown for jobs as clerks in state liquor stores. At least some figured correctly that the pole is 60 feet in height.

The Ohio House cuts by a vote of 82 to 15 a provision from a Senate bill that would have provided state aid to parochial schools.

The Mahoning Homestead Gardens Inc. will begin building between five and 15 houses within a month, the first of 160 homestead residences projected for the Youngstown area.