Today is Friday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2009. There are 314 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2009. There are 314 days left in the year. On this date in 1809, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Peters, 9 U.S. 115, rules that no state legislature can annul the judgments or determine the jurisdictions of federal courts.

In 1790, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II dies. In 1792, President George Washington signs an act creating the U.S. Post Office. In 1839, Congress prohibits dueling in the District of Columbia. In 1934, a blizzard inundates the northeastern United States. In 1938, Anthony Eden resigns as British foreign secretary following Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In 1959, the Dow Jones industrial average closes above 600 for the first time, at 602.21.

February 20, 1984: The U.S. Justice Department’s rejection of a proposed merger by LTV Corp. and Republic Steel Corp. is being viewed as only a temporary setback in the steel industry’s modernization through merger strategy.

Alyce Bartberger of New Castle, a 65-year-old aunt of Pittsburgh Pirates manager Chuck Tanner, wins a $2.5 million Pennsylvania Lottery jackpot.

Frantic shoppers battle over 500 Cabbage Patch Kids that go on sale at the Hills Department Store in Boardman. “I don’t know if we have a surefire way of stopping people from acting like animals,” says one store employee.

February 20, 1969: U.S. Rep Michael J. Kirwan announces the award of a $837,000 U.S. grant to build sewer facilities for sections of Youngstown that are unserved.

Youngstown’s Model Cities program is having a difficult time getting off the ground, with City Council delaying action to provide more personnel and approve project boundaries.

In a special election, Struthers voters approve an increase in the city income tax from 1 to 1.5 percent, equal to that in Youngstown and Campbell.

February 20, 1959: City basketball champs Chaney High School won 17 of its 18 regular season games and enters the sectional tournament against Champion.

After a jury finds a 19-year-old defendant guilty of raping a 15-year-old Struthers girl, two of his accused accomplices plead guilty to rape and kidnapping. They face up to 30 years in jail, but will undergo mental examinations before sentencing. One man awaits trial.

February 20, 1934: Philip Schaff, prominent local banker, is appointed president and general manager of the Mahoning Homestead Gardens Inc., and will oversee a fund of $500,000 that will be loaned for the construction of small country homes.

Ten aged women are burned to death after being trapped in their beds when fire swept through the Pennsylvania Memorial Home at Brookville, Pa.

Now playing at the Paramount, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in “Sons of the Desert.”