Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 27

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.

5.27.1894: Dashiell Hammett, the co-creator of Secret Agent X-9 (with Alex Raymond), is born on a farm in St. Mary's County, Maryland. The strip ran from 1934 to 1996.

5.27.1940: LeRoy Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, dies in New York City. He was 58 years old.

5.27.1971: Snoopy’s alter ego, supposed college student Joe Cool, makes his initial appearance in  Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts.

5.27.1991: Ed Dodd, the creator of Mark Trail, dies in Gainesville, Georgia, at 88. Introduced in 1946, the outdoor-themed comic remains in syndication.

5.27.2000: After 32 years at sea, Boner’s Ark finally finds dry land, bringing Mort Walker’s strip to an end. The cartoon featured a menagerie of animals on a boat ostensibly under the command of the hapless Captain Boner.

5.27.2000: The six female cartoonists who launched the collaborative comic Six Chix meet for the first time at a National Cartoonists Society dinner, five months after they unveiled their 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.