Today in the history of the American comic strip: July 23

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.

7.23.1917: Francis Herron is born in Lee County, Virginia. Working with Mike Roy, he created the Nero Wolfe strip, which ran from 1956 to 1972.

7.23.1923: Ad Carter kicks off Just Kids. The strip about a group of children palling around in a town called Barnsville ran from 1923 to 1957, with a name change in 1950 to Mush Stebbins and His Sister.

7.23.1934: Betty Boop makes the transition to newspaper comics, with a daily strip. It ran until 1937, and was revived (with some changes) from 1984 to 1988.

Betty Boop

 
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.