On this day in 1984, the award-winning comic strip Peanuts became the first comic to appear in 2,000 newspapers worldwide.

Creator Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Known to his friends as Sparky, he served in World War II and found early cartooning work in a church publication. There, he created a boy named Charlie Brown and a girl with red hair.

“It seems beyond comprehension of people that someone can be born to draw comic strips, but I think I was,” he reflected. “My ambition from earliest memory was to produce a daily comic strip.”

He introduced his cast of lovable characters—originally titled Li'l Folks on October 2, 1950. The strip was soon renamed Peanuts, a title Schulz never liked but accepted with grace.

“All of my fears, my anxieties, my joys, and almost, even all of my experiences go into that strip,” he said.

The comic strip’s quiet wisdom and real emotion resonated deeply. Readers saw themselves in the round-headed children—their awkwardness, hopes, and tender truth. “Some days are like being in the ‘ten items or less’ line behind a dozen people who don’t understand the new math,” he once joked with signature wit.

According to the Minnesota Historical Society, Charlie Brown and his friends have appeared in more than 30,000 newspapers across 75 countries and 40 languages, reaching 350 million readers daily. Schulz’s beloved beagle, Snoopy, has become one of the most recognizable characters in the world.