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

8.21.1918: Edwina Dumm debuts Cap Stubbs and Tippie, a strip about a mischievous boy and his dog. It ran until 1966.

8.21.1933: William Ritt launches Brick Bradford, as a daily strip. The science-fiction comic ran from 1933 to 1987, under various artists.
 

Brick Bradford

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.