24. Garry Trudeau created Doonesbury in 1970
On October 26, a new American cartoon strip made its debut in the United States. Doonesbury, written and drawn by Garry Trudeau, appeared initially in about two dozen newspapers. The following spring a Sunday strip was added. It became instantly known for not only its humor but its biting political commentary, usually from a liberal point of view. Two of its main characters, B. D. and Mike Doonesbury, initiated the strip as college roommates, with the first strip published depicting them meeting at the fictional Walden College, though the school was not identified by name until subsequent strips.
Trudeau won the Pulitzer Prize for the strip in 1975. It was the first comic strip ever so honored, winning the Editorial Cartoon category. Throughout its existence the strip provided commentary on current events and storylines reflected on social issues, political debates, and relationships. The strip frequently generated controversy. Many newspapers chose not to run individual strips or demanded they be altered before they would run. The strip, and the reaction to it, was another measure of the divisiveness present in the United States, much of it centered on America’s role in Vietnam.
