Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 11

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.

8.11.1917: Dik Browne, co-creator of Hi and Lois (1954-) and creator of Hägar the Horrible (1973-), is born in New York City. He was named 1962 and 1971 Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society. He also received a Newspaper Comic Strip award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1959, followed by others in 1960, 1972, 1977, 1984 and 1986.

 

8.11.1919: Nine-year-old Alfred Kaplan, who, as Al Capp, later created Li’l Abner, loses his left leg in a New Haven, Conn., trolley accident.
 

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.