This Day in History October 2, 1950

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Did you grow up getting the Sunday paper like my family did?  I remember we got the paper every day.  And every Sunday morning, I looked forward to reading Peanuts amongst others.  As a matter of fact, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas just weren't the same without the corresponding Peanuts holiday special.  

On this day in 1950, the Peanuts comic strip first appeared.  Charles Schulz wrote and illustrated it from this date in history until February 13, 2000 (the day after his death). Reruns did continue after that. In total, 17, 897 strips were published in all.  One could argue that it is the longest story told by a human being.  At its peak, it was being published in 2600 newspapers and boasted a readership of 355 million readers in 75 countries translated into 21 languages.  It was the comic strip that standardized the 4-panel comic strip that we have come  to expect.  Charles Schulz earned more  than one billion in revenue from the comic strip and merchandise combined.  It is said to be one of the most popular and influential comic strips in history.

Originally, it was printed in seven newspapers:  The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Minneapolis Tribune, The Allentown Call-Chronicle, The Bethlehem Globe-Times, The Denver Post and The Seattle Times.  It was a daily comic strip at first, and then it became a Sunday only strip in 1952.  Schulz did all aspects of the comic strip himself.  


I don't know about you, but Peanuts is something that is still near and dear to my heart.  I just realized that I must watch out for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown later on this month.  I never tire of these shows.  Whenever I watch the Christmas special, I am so glad to hear the entire Christmas story directly from the Bible!  When I look at comics and cartoons nowadays, I am so turned off.  I so wish we could go back the simple times when Charlie Brown couldn't hit the football or Snoopy and Woodstock were the best of friends.  


For a great resource and lots of information, check out this site.