Today in the history of the American comic strip: April 30

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.

4.30.1928: Tailspin Tommy, an adventure strip about a young pilot, begins its 14-year run, in four newspapers. By 1931, it had expanded to more than 250 papers.
 
4.30.1929: Mary Gold, a character in Sidney Smith’s strip The Gumps, dies. The Gumps was extremely popular at the time, and Gold’s death created a sensation. Smith became the first American cartoonist to kill off a major character in a comic strip.

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.