Event:
Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. is ranked the highest-paid U.S. executive for the second year in a row; Ellison's 2013 compensation of $78.4 million is more than twice that of runner-up Robert Iger of Walt Disney Corp, with $34.3 million
More Notable Events on April 12: 1981 Maiden voyage of space shuttle Columbia
1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes 1st person to orbit Earth in Vostok 1
1946 Syria gains independence from France
1844 Texas became a U.S. territory
1654 England, Ireland and Scotland united
