Today is Tuesday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2009. There are 317 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2009. There are 317 days left in the year. On this date in 1909, Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo (also known as Goyathlay, “One Who Yawns”) dies at Fort Sill, Okla., at age 79.

In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives breaks an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr becomes vice president. In 1809, the Ohio legislature votes to establish Miami University in present-day Oxford. (The school opens in 1824.) In 1864, during the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic is rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, S.C., by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley, which also sinks. In 1865, Columbia, S.C., burns as the Confederates evacuate and Union forces move in. (It’s not clear which side set the blaze.) In 1897, the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convenes its first meeting, in Washington.

February 17, 1984: The Trumbull County Fair Board votes to increase gate fees from $3 to $4, but promises a bigger and better entertainment package.

The Youngstown Revitalization Foundation, stripped of $300,000 by City Council, seeks to smooth over its differences with lawmakers. Atty. John Weed Powers, president of the foundation, tells council, “Let’s get together and get the job done.”

Ron Brown drills in 27 points and Mark Pippen adds 19 points, but it isn’t enough as Kent State Trumbull loses to Cuyahoga Community College, 86-77.

February 17, 1969: Fourth Ward Councilman Corry Dama introduces legislation to increase the number of detectives on the Youngstown Police Department from 33 to 40.

Mahoning County commissioners adopt a resolution of intent to form a Council of Governments in conjunction with the cities of Youngstown and Warren and with Trumbull County.

Don Shula, head coach of the Baltimore Colts, will be the speaker at the sold-out Vestibule Club banquet at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.

February 17, 1959: Four sets of twins are born in Youngstown hospitals on a single day. The parents are Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cahill, Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Gibbs, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lightfoot and Mr. and Mrs. Myron Ullman Jr.

The House Public Works Committee approves $25,000 for a flood control survey by the Army Corps of Engineers of Crab Creek.

February 17, 1934: The Cold Metal Process Co., which owns the patents for the Steckel process, files an infringement suit against U.S. Steel Corp. and the American Sheet & Tin Plate Co., a subsidiary at Newark, N.J.

A cornerstone-laying ceremony is held at First Christian Church, Wick Avenue and Spring Street.

Tickets are available by mail for the performance of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra at Stambaugh Auditorium, ranging from 60 cents in the gallery to $1.20 for prime floor seats.