Charles M. Schulz

Charles M. Schulz was an American cartoonist born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Saint Paul, where he developed an early interest in drawing. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to Minnesota and began selling cartoons to The Saturday Evening Post while teaching at his alma mater, Art Instruction Inc.

Schulz created the comic strip Peanuts, which debuted on October 2, 1950, in seven newspapers. The strip, centered on Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and their circle of friends, grew into one of the most widely syndicated comic strips in history, appearing in over 2,600 newspapers across 75 countries by the time of his retirement. Beginning with A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965, Schulz helped write dozens of animated television specials and four animated films.

Schulz drew every Peanuts strip himself for nearly 50 years, never using assistants. The strip's final original installment appeared on February 13, 2000, one day after his death. His collected Peanuts strips have been translated into more than 25 languages.