Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 6

American cartoonists and writers may not have invented the comic strip, but some argue that the comics, as we know them today, are an American creation. Clearly, the United States has played an outsize role in the development of this underappreciated art form.

1.6.1926: Stuart Hample is born in Binghamton, New York. In 1976, he introduced Inside Woody Allen, a gag-a-day strip about the filmmaker and comedian. It ran until 1984.

1.6.1936: Walt Kelly, who would go on to create the Pogo comic strip, begins working at Walt Disney productions, first as a storyboard artist and gag man and later in the animation department. Kelly contributed to Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Reluctant Dragon, and Dumbo.
 
1.6. 1951: Ray Bailey’s aviation strip, Bruce Gentry, end its run less than six years after it took flight.

1.6.1952: Launched in 1950 as a daily strip, Charles Schulz's Peanuts adds a Sunday feature.

1.6.1952: The irascible Lucy Van Pelt joins the Peanuts gang. In the years that followed, she would prove to be a major member of the cast.
 
1.6.2008: Martha “Marty” Links, the creator of Bobby Sox, dies in San Rafael, California. She was 90 years old.

Bruce Gentry

Most of the information listed here from one day to the next comes from two online sites -- Wikipedia, and Don Markstein's Toonopedia -- as well as 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, edited by Maurice Horn. Note that my focus is on American newspaper comic strips (and the occasional foreign strip that gained popularity in the United States). Thus, comic books and exclusively online comics are not included here.