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

1.26.1901: Clifford McBride is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He went on to create Napoleon and Uncle Elby in 1932. The strip featured a large, rambunctious dog (Napoleon) whose ostensible master (Uncle Elby) was unable to restrain him.

1.26.1925: Flapper Fanny Says, a single-panel daily cartoon created by Ethel Hays, premieres. A Sunday page was titled Flapper Fanny. Each cartoon featured a flapper illustration and a witticism.
 

1.26.1929: Jules Feiffer, creator of a comic strip in 1956 that eventually became known as Feiffer, is born in New York City. 

1.26.1948: Rusty Riley debuts. It was created and drawn by Frank Godwin, with scripts by Rod Reed. The strip follows the adventures of Rusty, an orphan, who flees the orphanage with his terrier, Flip. It survived for a decade.

Feiffer

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.