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Last edited by dcapillae
February 25, 2025 | History

Charles M. Schulz

Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Peanuts (which featured the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy, among many others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited by cartoonists including Jim Davis, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 26, 1922, Schulz was the only child of Dena and Carl Schulz. From birth, comics played an important role in Schulz’s life. At just two days old, an uncle nicknamed him “Sparky” after the horse Spark Plug from the Barney Google comic strip, and throughout his youth he and his father shared a Sunday morning ritual reading the funnies. Schulz always knew he wanted to be a cartoonist and was very proud when Ripley’s newspaper feature, Believe it or Not, published his drawing of the family dog in 1937.

Schulz put his artistic ambitions on hold during World War II while serving as a machine-gun squad leader, though he regularly sketched episodes of daily army life in his sketchbook. Following his discharge in 1945, Schulz returned to St. Paul to pursue a cartooning career. Between 1947 and 1950, he drew a weekly comic panel for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and also sold seventeen comic gags to The Saturday Evening Post. After many rejection slips, Schulz finally realized his dream of creating a nationally-syndicated daily comic strip when Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers on October 2, 1950. By 1965, Schulz was twice honored with the Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society for his talents, and Peanuts was an international success.

When Schulz announced his retirement for health reasons in December 1999, Peanuts was in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide; he died shortly thereafter, on Saturday, February 12, 2000, just hours before the final Peanuts Sunday strip appeared in newspapers.

Sources: Charles M. Schulz on Wikipedia; Biography of Charles M. Schulz on Charles M. Schulz Museum

American cartoonist, known for creating the comic strip, "Peanuts"

Born 26 Nov 1922
Died 12 Feb 2000

1497 works Add another?

  • Cover of: Love Is Walking Hand in Hand 1965 Edition

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  • Cover of: The misfortunes of Charlie Brown

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  • Cover of: Teen-agers, unite! A new cartoon collection,

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  • Cover of: Thanks for Nothing, Snoopy
    First published in 1975 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Thoughts on getting well: the Peanuts manual for prompt recovery

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  • Cover of: Snoopy and the Red Baron
    First published in 1969 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Snoopy's Philosophy
    First published in 1967 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Peanuts Every Sunday
    First published in 1961 1 edition

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  • Cover of: Hay Que Ayudarte, Charlie Brown
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  • Cover of: Good grief, it's your birthday
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  • Cover of: Le grand livre des questions et réponses de Charlie Brown
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  • Cover of: CHARLIE BROWN VIDEO SPECIALS
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American cartoonist, known for creating the comic strip, "Peanuts"

Born 26 Nov 1922
Died 12 Feb 2000

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February 25, 2025 Edited by dcapillae merge authors
February 11, 2025 Edited by dcapillae merge authors
December 27, 2024 Edited by dcapillae merge authors
May 30, 2024 Edited by dcapillae merge authors
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import