This day in history — April 7

Today’s highlight in history

On April 7, 1917, the day after the United States formally entered World War I, American entertainer and songwriter George M. Cohan wrote “Over There.”

On this date

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

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 1947, auto pioneer Henry Ford died in Dearborn, Mich., at age 83.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he was deferring development of the neutron bomb, a high-radiation weapon.

In 1984, the Census Bureau reported Los Angeles had overtaken Chicago as the nation’s “second city” in terms of population.

In 1994, civil war erupted in Rwanda, a day after a mysterious plane crash claimed the lives of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi; in the months that followed, hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates were slaughtered by Hutu extremists.

In 2001, NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft took off on a six-month, 286 million-mile journey to the Red Planet.

Ten years ago: A Russian rocket carrying American billionaire Charles Simonyi was launched from Kazakhstan, sending its three occupants on a trip to the International Space Station.

Five years ago: CBS newsman Mike Wallace, 93, died in New Canaan, Conn.

One year ago: “American Idol” crowned 24-year-old Trent Harmon its 15th and final winner as the influential TV show came to an end.

Associated Press