Today in history: Jan. 21
In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1924: Vladimir Lenin
In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53.
1942: Pinball
In 1942, pinball machines were banned in New York City after a court ruled they were gambling devices that relied on chance rather than skill (the ban was lifted in 1976).
1950: Alger Hiss
In 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss, accused of being part of a Communist spy ring, was found guilty in New York of lying to a grand jury. (Hiss, who proclaimed his innocence, served less than four years in prison.)
1954: USS Nautilus
In 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton (GRAH’-tuhn), Connecticut (however, the Nautilus did not make its first nuclear-powered run until nearly a year later).
1976: The Concorde
In 1976, British Airways and Air France inaugurated scheduled passenger service on the supersonic Concorde jet.
1977: Jimmy Carter
In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
2010: Citizens United
In 2010, a bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, vastly increased the power of big business and labor unions to influence government decisions by freeing them to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress.
2012: Newt Gingrich
Ten years ago: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich scored an upset win in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, dealing a sharp setback to Mitt Romney.
2017: Tornadoes
Five years ago: The Southeast saw the beginning of a weekend outbreak of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms; sixteen people were killed in Georgia, four people died in Mississippi and one death was reported in Florida.
2017: Women's Marches
Five years ago: A day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, more than 1 million people rallied at women’s marches in the nation’s capital and cities around the world to send the new president an emphatic message that they wouldn’t let his agenda go unchallenged.
2020: Coronavirus
In 2020, the U.S. reported its first known case of the new virus circulating in China, saying a Washington state resident who had returned the previous week from the outbreak’s epicenter was hospitalized near Seattle; U.S. officials stressed that they believed the overall risk of the virus to the American public remained low.
2021: Anthony Fauci
One year ago: After being largely sidelined in the final months of the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci returned to the White House briefing room to provide an update on the pandemic.
2021: Joe Biden
One year ago: On his first full day in office, President Joe Biden signed 10 executive orders aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic, including one broadening the use of the Defense Production Act to expand vaccine production; he also signed an order mandating masks for travel, including in airports and on planes, ships, trains, buses and public transportation.
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