Years Ago

February 19, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Today is Friday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2010. There are 315 days left in the year. On this date in 1945, during World War II, some 30,000 U.S. Marines begin landing on Iwo Jima, where they commence a successful month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

In 1803, Congress votes to accept Ohio’s borders and constitution. In 1846, the Texas state government is formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes the military to relocate and intern U.S. residents, including native-born Americans, of Japanese ancestry. In 1959, an agreement is signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence. In 1999, President Bill Clinton posthumously pardons Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, whose military career had been tarnished by a racially motivated discharge. In 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigns the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul is named to succeed him.

February 19, 1985: The vacant Commuter Aircraft Corp. building at Youngstown Municipal Airport is being purchased by Argonaut Realty and will be remodeled for use by the Packard Electric Division of General Motors.

State aid to school districts in Mahoning and Trumbull counties will increase from 5.2 to 16 percent under the 1985-86 budget proposed by Gov. Richard F. Celeste.

February 19, 1970: Any shutdown of bus service by the Youngstown Transit Co. might jeopardize federal programs such as urban renewal, 4th Ward Councilman William R. Shranko warns.

A rock tumbles down the wall of a strip mine near Clarkson in Columbiana County, knocking George Thompson, 26, of Lisbon off a coal conveyor at the C&W Mining Co. facility, killing him.

February 19, 1960: Heavy snow and temperatures in the teens close 60 Mahoning Valley schools and shuts down a 175-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Republic Steel Corp. metallurgists have developed a new titanium alloy sheet, which is a major step toward developing materials for aircraft and missile construction, says Ernest R. Johnson, vice president of operations.

February 19, 1935: Ted Luther, former local golfer who has been the pro at Corry, Pa., is named pro at the Mahoning Valley Country Club for the 1935 season, says General Manager Oscar Deibel.

Youngstown City Council appropriates $3,000 for a preventative diphtheria fund that will provide toxoid treatment for school children. Doctors will be paid 50 cents per treatment.