Today is Monday, April 6, the 96th day of 2009. There are 269 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, April 6, the 96th day of 2009. There are 269 days left in the year. On this date in 1909, American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits become the first men to reach the North Pole.

In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, N.Y. In 1896, the first modern Olympic games formally open in Athens, Greece. In 1917, Congress approves a declaration of war against Germany. In 1954, after being criticized by newsman Edward R. Murrow on CBS’ “See It Now,” Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., is given the opportunity to reply with a filmed response in which he charged that Murrow had in the past “engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.” In 1959, “Gigi” wins the Academy Award for best picture of 1958; Susan Hayward is named best actress for “I Want to Live!” and David Niven was named best actor for “Separate Tables.” (To the embarrassment of the show’s producers, the scheduled two-hour ceremony fell about 20 minutes short.) In 1963, the United States signs an agreement to sell the Polaris missile system to Britain. In 1983, rock-and-roll fans react with outrage and dismay to a published report in The Washington Post that Interior Secretary James Watt had decided to exclude groups like the Beach Boys from Washington’s 4th of July celebration — a stand he later reversed. In 1994, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a mysterious plane crash near Rwanda’s capital; widespread violence and killings erupted in Rwanda over claims the plane had been shot down.

April 6, 1984: The Beaver Township Zoning Commission denies a zone change on 12 acres of land that would have allowed B.J. Alan Co. to build a fireworks warehouse.

Youngstown City Council wants a policy to protect the city from being sued for incidents involving policemen who work second jobs. The city recently settled a lawsuit filed by a store clerk who was mistakenly killed by a city patrolman working as a security guard.

Speaking at the YSU English Festival, James E. Davis, a professor at Ohio University, warns that censorship is on the rise as special interest groups seek to ban or restrict books.

April 6, 1969: Kenneth M. Lloyd, secretary of the Mahoning Valley Industrial Council, says legislation will be introduced in Congress soon to authorize construction of a $300 million Grand River Reservoir. It would provide domestic and industrial water for the Cleveland-Pittsburgh megopolis, which includes Akron and Warren.

H. William Isaly of Youngstown is named president of the Isaly Co., the 270-store milk products chain founded by his grandfather. Isaly, who has been manager of the Youngstown district, will move to the corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.

April 6, 1959: State liquor agents crackdown on after-hours clubs, battering down a door at the Tropical Club on Warren’s Southwest Side and using a sledge hammer on the door at the Forty Athletic Club on Short Street in Campbell.

Preston J. Moore, national commander of the American Legion, is welcomed to Youngstown with a parade and speaks to a crowd of 400 at the Hotel Pick Ohio. He warns that Russia, which used to lag behind the United States in war preparedness, has gained all the advantages.

A four piece jazz combo provides the music during mass at St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church in Norwalk, Conn.

A downtown parade of 100 new cars will open a two week auto sales push by 28 new car dealers of Youngstown. The slogan for the campaign is “Live better by far with a brand new car. “

April 6, 1934: Mahoning County Relief Director R.A. Noble is ordered back to Columbus and local employees a are being told their jobs will be terminated and all services to the needed ended on April 10.

A U.S. Army air corps mail plane, flying the New York-Cleveland route, is damaged when it noses over during a landing at the U.S. intermediate air field at Champion.

A homemade bomb damages the home of Frank Itts, 2043 Felicia Avenue, Youngstown, employment officer at the Brier Hill plant of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. The bomb was thrown on the front porch and caused $150 in damage.

Peter Sirbu of 420 Early Road is injured when an airplane in which he was a passenger was caught by a gust of wind and overturned while landing at the municipal airport. The pilot, Arthur Jones, manager of the field, was uninjured.