Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 14

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.

4.14.1918: George McManus launches the Sunday version of Bringing Up Father, several years after the daily installment debuted.

4.14.1924: Roy Crane, who created Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer, introduces Wash Tubbs, which ran until 1988. The strip has been described as the first true action / adventure comic.

4.14.1947: Charles Kuhn unveils Grandma, which depicted humorous events in the life of a friendly woman known simply as . . . Grandma! The comic came to an end when Kuhn retired in 1969.

4.14.1949: A villain named Pear Shape makes his first appearance in Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, which has featured a long list of colorful, often bizarre-looking, evildoers over the years.

4.14.1989: U.S. Acres, created by Jim Davis of Garfield fame, is canceled after three years. The strip centered on a group of barnyard animals including Orson, a small pig. 

Bringing Up Father

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.