Charles M. Schulz Museum

Good Grief! The Peanuts gang is 76 today!

The beloved comic strip “Peanuts” ran without interruption for nearly 50 years, with its first comic strip published in 1950.

The series was created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who was born in 1922. As a child, Schulz and his father shared a Sunday-morning ritual of reading the funnies.

He got his first big break in 1947 when he sold a cartoon feature called “Li’l Folks” to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Roughly three years later, the “Peanuts” debuted in seven newspapers. From the 1950s to the 2000s, Schulz personally drew all the illustrations for the series.

Schulz died in Santa Rosa, Calif., Feb. 12, 2000—just hours before his last original strip was to appear in Sunday papers.

(Image credits)
1. Peanuts by Charles Schulz, 1965. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine. © Peanuts Worldwide.
2. © TIME. Collection of the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
3. Charles Schulz by Yousuf Karsh, 1986. Chromogenic print. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Estrellita Karsh in memory of Yousuf Karsh. ©1986 Estate of Yousuf Karsh.

💛 It’s your anniversary, Charlie Brown!

🎉 The first Peanuts comic strip, shown here, debuted on this day 76 years ago on October 2, 1950.

It features Patty, Shermy, and "Good ol’ Charlie Brown," and was published in seven newspapers nationwide. Peanuts would go on to appear in over 2,600 newspapers across 75 countries, with book collections translated into over 45 languages.

For five decades, Charles M. Schulz wrote, drew, inked, and lettered every Peanuts strip—17,897 strips in total. Today, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang continue to bring joy, laughter, and comfort to countless readers worldwide.

🎃 'Tis the season of the Great Pumpkin! Do you believe?

This month, join us in celebrating 60 years of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with special events, a new Linus exhibition, and more!

Get the details in our October eNewsletter: mailchi.mp/schulzmuseum.org/october2026enews

✏️ This Peanuts comic strip was published on October 13, 1962.

🔔 This Peanuts comic strip was published on September 13, 1993.

🐾 Happy ! Snoopy’s “long-lost” brother, Marbles, made his Peanuts debut on this day in 1982!

Described by Snoopy as “the smart one in the family,” Marbles is known for his spots and jogging sneakers. Quiet, weary of cats, and a logical thinker, Marbles doesn't know what to make of Snoopy’s fantasy life—he would rather research why dogs walk at an angle and other quandaries!

This Peanuts comic strip was published on October 2, 1982 (see our Stories today to see Marbles’ debut comic strip).

🌎 This Peanuts Sunday comic strip was published on September 11, 1988.

This Peanuts comic strip was published on September 23, 1968.

✂️ Copy and paste... but by hand!

No Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V here. In the 1990s, Charles M. Schulz occasionally incorporated Xerox photocopies of his own drawings into the strips, using them to reproduce certain elements rather than redrawing them multiple times.

Whether it was a the Beagle Scout troops, a complicated bit of music, or even a single moment emphasized through creative repetition, this use brought a unique collage feel to his Peanuts comic strips.

See over 50 original Peanuts comic strips (including the ones shown here) in the exhibition "Peanuts Evolution: The 1990s" on view through November 9, 2026.

🎹 On this day in 1951, Schroeder first plays the piano!

After purchasing a toy piano for his daughter Meredith, Charles M. Schulz decided to give one to Schroeder, who took to the instrument immediately.

“This gag was only supposed to last for a few days, but it turned out to be like the Red Baron series. I knew I had something, so I kept it up…” —Charles M. Schulz

🎼 Though painstaking, Schulz enjoyed carefully copying authentic sheet music in his strips, and knowledgeable readers liked to identify the music.

❓ Can you guess who composed the music featured in this strip?

This Peanuts comic strip was published on this day on September 24, 1951.