Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 15

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.

8.15.1895: Clarence D. Russell, the creator of Pete the Tramp (1932-1963), is born in Buffalo, New York.

 

8.15.1920: Harrison Cady launches Peter Rabbit, a comic strip which he wrote and drew for 28 years.
 

8.15. 1979: Walter Berndt, who drew Smitty for 50 years, dies in Port Jefferson on Long Island, New York. The strip ran from 1922 to 1973.

8.15.1982: Ernie Bushmiller, the creator of Nancy, dies in Stamford, Connecticut, at 76. His comic remains in circulation.

8.15.1998: After a long struggle with Alzheimer's, Congresswoman Lacey Davenport, a character in Doonesbury, succumbs. 

Nancy

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.