Today in the history of the American comic strip: May 9

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.

5.9.1921: Frank O’Neal is born in Springfield, Missouri. He began Short Ribs in 1958, and turned the strip over to an assistant in 1973. O'Neal received a Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1964.

5.9.1927: Felix the Cat expands its reach by adding a daily comic to the Sunday feature. Over the years, Felix turned up everywhere -- films, TV, comic books -- and, of course, newspaper strips.

5.9.1967: Wallace Carlson, co-creator of The Nebbs, dies in Chicago at 72. Introduced in 1923, the cartoon remained in print until the 1940s.

5.9.1968: Little Orphan Annie creator Harold Gray dies in La Jolla, California. He was 74 years old. Gray's strip, which launched in 1924, survived until 2010.

Felix the Cat

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.