Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 21

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.

7.21.1948: Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury, is born in New York City. He won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, the 1994 Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society, and the 1995 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year award from the National Cartoonists Society.

7.21.1968: Tales of the Green Beret, which debuted with a Vietnam War setting in 1965, ends its run.

Doonesbury

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.