Today is Tuesday, December 18th, the 352nd day of the year. There are 13 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1796, the Baltimore, Maryland, "Monitor" was published as the first Sunday newspaper.
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect. The amendment abolished slavery.
In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the wartime relocation and detainment of Japanese-Americans.
In 1966, Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" aired for the first time on CBS.
In 1971, Hall-of-Fame golfer Bobby Jones died at the age of 69.
In 1971, the Reverend Jesse Jackson announced the founding of Operation PUSH in Chicago. PUSH is an acronym for People United to Save Humanity.
In 1992, Hall-of-Fame television producer Mark Goodson died at the age of 77. He created several popular game shows including "The Price is Right" and "Family Feud."
In 1997, actor-comedian Chris Farley died at the age of 33. He is best remembered for his skits on "Saturday Night Live" and several films including "Tommy Boy" and "Beverly Hills Ninja."
In 2000, newspaper heir Randolph Apperson Hearst, the last surviving son of William Randolph Hearst, died in New York at age 85.
In 2003, prosecutors in Santa Barbara County, California officially filed child molestation charges against pop superstar Michael Jackson. The charges stemmed from the allegations of a young boy who said Jackson molested him at the singer's Neverland Ranch. Jackson was charged with nine counts. He was eventually acquitted of the charges.
In 2004, Pope John Paul the Second condemned gay marriage, saying those who destroy the "fundamental fabric" of marriage and the family are causing a "profound injury to society."
In 2008, Mark Felt, the man known to Americans for decades only as the infamous "Deep Throat" died at his Santa Rosa home at the age of 95. Felt a former FBI agent, was the informant who leaked information about the Watergate scandal to "Washington Post" reporters that eventually brought down President Richard Nixon. In 2005, more than 30 years after his information created the house of cards that eventually toppled Nixon, Felt admitted he was "Deep Throat."
In 2011, the last U.S. combat soldier left Iraq, putting an end to nearly nine years of war in Iraq that toppled the Saddam Hussein regime.
In 2015, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was released on this day, taking more than 100 million dollars in the U.S. and Canada. The film went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2015.
In 2015, it was announced that Mother Teresa would be canonized in the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican said that the nun who dedicated her life to helping the poor people of Calcutta, India, would become a saint in a ceremony next year.
In 2016, Hungarian actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor died at the age of 99.