Today is Sunday, April 7, the 97th day of 2013. There are 268 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 7, 1953, the U.N. General Assembly ratified Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden as the new secretary-general, succeeding Trygve Lie of Norway.

On this date:

In 1862, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.

In 1922, the Teapot Dome scandal began as Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed a secret deal to lease U.S. Navy petroleum reserves to his friends, oilmen Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny.

In 1927, the image and voice of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover were transmitted live from Washington to New York in the first successful long-distance demonstration of television.

In 1949, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” opened on Broadway.

In 1959, a referendum in Oklahoma repealed the state’s ban on alcoholic beverages.

In 1969, the Supreme Court, in Stanley v. Georgia, unanimously struck down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material.

Today’s Birthdays

Actor James Garner is 85. Actor Wayne Rogers is 80. Media commentator Hodding Carter III is 78. California Gov. Jerry Brown is 75. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 74. TV personality David Frost is 74. Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is 64. Singer Janis Ian is 62. Actor Jackie Chan is 59. College and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Tony Dorsett is 59. Actor Russell Crowe is 49.

Thought for Today

“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” — Spanish proverb.

Associated Press