Today in the history of the American comic strip: January 20

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.

1.20.1894: Harold Gray, the creator of Little Orphan Annie, is born in Kankakee, Illinois. His strip made its debut in 1924.

1.20.1901: Comics pioneer Frederick Burr Opper, the creator of Happy Hooligan, rolls out Our Antediluvian Ancestors, a short-lived cave man strip.

1.20.1944: Bill Griffith is born in New York City. His strip Zippy takes its name from its lead character, Zippy the Pinhead.

1.20.1968: Jane Arden, an internationally syndicated comic strip, is cancelled. The title character was a reporter who served as a prototype for the likes of Lois Lane and Brenda Starr.

Little Orphan Annie

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.