December 17, 1989
The animated series The Simpsons debuts on Fox television. It began as a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show two years earlier. It has gone on to win over 30 Emmy Awards.
Creator Matt Groening modeled “Bart” after his older brother, Mark, naming him “Bart” – an anagram of “brat”.
December 18, 1865
13th Amendment Abolishing Slavery Goes into Effect. It abolished slavery in the U.S. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
December 19, 1998
U.S. President Bill Clinton is charged with perjury, obstruction of justice, and malfeasance in office in connection with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit. He would eventually be acquitted of all charges. Clinton was the second U.S. President impeached after Andrew Johnson (1868).