Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 29

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.

5.29.1935: William Addison Ireland dies in Ohio. A cartoonist for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, he is the namesake of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at The Ohio State University, which describes itself as the largest and most comprehensive academic research facility documenting printed cartoon art.
 

5.29.1960: Lance, a Western cartoon created by Warren Tufts, ends its run. The Sunday feature was notable as one of the last full-page comics.

5.29.1973: More than a dozen newspapers drop Doonesbury after a character in the strip condemns Watergate conspirator John Mitchell.

5.29.1974: Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, is born in Chicago, Illinois. His strip, which starred young black radical Huey Freeman, made its national debut in 1999 and ran until 2006.

5.29.2010: The National Cartoonists Society announces that Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have won the 2009 Newspaper Comic Strip award, for Zits.

5.29.2012: Thomas Andrae releases Walt Kelly: The Life and Art of the Creator of Pogo,  an illustrated biography.
 

The Boondocks

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.