The Simpsons debuted on this day in 1989 with the Christmas special “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Weekly episodes began airing in January 1990, and the show went on to become the longest-running animated television series in U.S. history. 1989.
The United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations that had been suspended for more than 50 years. 2014.
North Korean ruler Kim Jong Il died; he was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. 2011.
Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after being harassed by municipal officials, giving rise to Tunisia‘s Jasmine Revolution and helping inspire the Arab Spring; he died from his injuries the following month. 2010.
Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful sustained flights in an airplane—Orville first, gliding 120 feet (36.6 metres) through the air in 12 seconds—at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. 1903.
The first issue of Vogue was published. Initially a weekly high-society journal, it became a prominent American fashion magazine, with Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour among its most notable and influential editors. 1892.
With Napoleon‘s decree of Milan, all neutral countries and allies of France were forbidden to trade with Britain. 1807.
French foreign minister Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes and King Louis XVI decided to recognize the United States as an independent country, making France one of the first countries to do so. The recognition became official on February 6, 1778, when the two countries signed a treaty of alliance that involved France financially and militarily in the American Revolution. 1777.
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