Today in the history of the American comic strip: February 13

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.

2.13.1877: Sidney Smith, the creator of Old Doc Yak and The Gumps, is born in Bloomington, Illinois.

2.13.1918: Bud Blake, the cartoonist behind Tiger, is born in Nutley, New Jersey. He received Newspaper Comic Strip awards from the National Cartoonists Society in 1970, 1978 and 2000.

2.13.1937: Prince Valiant, by Hal Foster, premieres. It remains in print.

2.13.1995. Bill Perry dies. He worked as an assistant to Gasoline Alley creator Frank King before officially taking over that comic’s Sunday feature in 1951. Perry held the job until 1975 or 1976.

2.13.2000: One day after the death of creator Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts ends its nearly 50-year run, with its final Sunday strip. Snoopy makes his final appearance, sitting atop his doghouse typing Schulz's farewell message to readers.

2.13.2008: Tom Roberts releases Alex Raymond: His Life and Art, an illustrated biography of the man who created Flash Gordon. 

Prince Valiant

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.