Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 10

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.

8.10.1990: Peggy Jean becomes Charlie Brown’s girlfriend in Peanuts, despite his unrequited love for the Little Red-Haired Girl. Peggy Jean appeared intermittently in the comic until mid-1999, a few months before the strip ended in February 2000.

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.