Today in History.

• Position: News

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter, center, pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2014. There are 344 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 21, 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Conn., as first lady Mamie Eisenhower christened the vessel with the traditional bottle of champagne broken against the bow. (However, the Nautilus did not make its first nuclear-powered run until nearly a year later).

On this date:

In 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southerners whose states had seceded from the Union resigned from the U.S. Senate.

In 1910, the Great Paris Flood began as the rain-swollen Seine River burst its banks, sending water into the French capital.

In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53.

In 1937, Count Basie and his band recorded ''One O'Clock Jump'' for Decca Records. (On this date in 1942, they re-recorded the song for Okeh Records.)

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.) George Orwell (Eric Blair), author of ''Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' died in London at age 46.

I n 1968, the Battle of Khe Sanh began during the Vietnam War. An American B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs...