Today is Sunday, April 6, the 97th day of 2008. There are 269 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 6, 1909, explorers Robert E. Peary, Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole. (The claim, disputed by skeptics, was upheld in 1989 by the Navigation Foundation.)

On this date:

n In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, N.Y.

n In 1858, President Buchanan issued a proclamation declaring Mormons in the Utah Territory to be in a state of rebellion against the U.S. government.

n In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as Confederate forces launched a surprise attack against Union troops, who beat back the Confederates the next day.

n In 1917, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.

n In 1954, after being criticized by Edward R. Murrow on CBS’ “See It Now,” Sen. Joseph McCarthy delivered a filmed response in which he charged that Murrow had in the past “engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.”

Today’s Birthdays: Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson is 80. Composer-conductor Andre Previn is 79. Country singer Merle Haggard is 71. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 71. Actress Marilu Henner is 56.

Thought for Today: “After the age of 80, everything reminds you of something else.” — Lowell Thomas, American author and broadcaster (born this day in 1892, died in 1981).

—The Associated Press