Today in the history of the American comic strip: November 5

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.

11.5.1939: The Superman comic, which debuted as a daily strip in January 1939, adds a Sunday feature. Several writers and artists worked on the strip until its demise in May 1966.
 

11.5.1979: Al Capp, best known as the creator of Li’l Abner, dies in South Hampton, New Hampshire, at 70. Although Capp was from Connecticut, he spent 43 years teaching the world about Dogpatch, Kentucky.
 

Li'l Abner

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.