Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 4

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.

5.4.1902: Richard F. Outcault introduces Buster Brown in the New York Herald. Buster, his girlfriend Mary Jane, and his dog Tige, a Pit Bull Terrier, were well-known in the early 20th century. 

5.4.1919: Carl Ed’s Harold Teen debuts as a Sunday strip under the title The Love Life of Harold Teen. The comic ran for four decades.

Buster Brown

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.