Today in the history of the American comic strip: August 20

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.

8.20.1930: Bill Rechin, the co-creator of Crock and Out of Bounds, is born in Buffalo, New York. Crock, which ran from 1975 to 2012, has been described as a parody of the 1924 novel Beau Geste.

8.20.1972: Ray Helle cancels The Flibbertys, an 18-year-old family strip that also included a dog, a cat and a mouse. The animals could talk among themselves.

8.20.1977: Johnny Hazard, which dropped its Sunday strip on Aug. 14, 1977, disappears entirely by abandoning the daily strip as well.

8.20.2005: Trudy, which was launched in 1963, ends its run following the  death of creator Jerry Marcus. The strip focused on the homemaker of the title as she manages her family and its pets.

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.