Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 1

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.

 

4.1.1945: Thomas Walter "Chipper" Wallet, son of Skeezix Wallet and Nina (Clock) Wallet, is born in Frank King's Gasoline Alley. After serving as a medic during the Vietnam War, Chipper becomes a physician’s assistant.

4.1.1950: A Tom and Jerry comic strip, inspired by the animated cartoons about Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse, debuts. It ran until 1994.

4.1.1973: The last strip appears chronicling The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack, who first turned up in the "funny papers" in 1933. Zack Mosley created the aviation comic.

4.1.1996: Cornered, a single-panel comic by Mike Baldwin, debuts. All of the characters in the cartoon wear glasses, including animals.

4.1.2014: Stripped, a documentary about comic strips and their transition from print to the Web, is released. Cartoonist Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes created the poster for the film.
 

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.