Today in the history of the American comic strip: November 3

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.

11.3.1897: F.O. Alexander is born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1931, he took over Hairbreadth Harry following the death of its creator, C.W. Kahles. Alexander produced the strip until 1939.

11.3.1957: Charles M. Schulz of Peanuts fame creates It’s Only a Game, a sports-and-game-oriented comic that ran four times a week for 14 months. Fellow cartoonist Jim Sasseville worked with Schulz on the short-lived strip. 

11.3.1986: The Middletons premieres. Created by Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers, the strip s set in a town called Middleton and features a suburban family and their neighbors.

Hairbreadth Harry

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.