Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 26

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.

7.26.1934: Winsor McCay, best known as the creator of the tremendously innovative Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905-1914 and 1924-1926), dies in New York City.

7.26.1974: Gene Byrnes, the creator of Reg’lar Fellers, dies in New York City. He was 84. Byrnes' strip was syndicated from 1917 to 1949.

7.26.2020: More than a month after creator Jan Eliot announced that she would be retiring Stone Soup, the final strip runs in newspapers. The comic went into daily syndication in 1995, and switched to a Sundays-only format in 2015.

Litlle Nemo in Slumberland

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.