<p>Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was a prominent American cartoonist and the author of the widely popular <i>Peanuts </i>comic strip, which ran from 1967 to 1999. He is known as one of the world’s most iconic and recognized cartoonists; the minimalist visual style, sharp humor, and fearless emotional honesty of the strip inspired a generation of future cartoonists, including Bill Watterson, the author of <i>Calvin and Hobbes</i>.</p><p> Raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Schulz took a correspondence course at Art Instruction, Inc., later becoming an instructor. For years, this was his day job while he worked at becoming a cartoonist. His first regularly published cartoon was <i>Li’l Folks, </i>a weekly one-panel series of humorous illustrations. <i>Peanuts </i>was first published by United Feature Syndicate, which ran it initially in seven newspapers. Eventually, <i>Peanuts </i>ran daily in more than 2,600 publications in 21 languages, throughout 75 countries worldwide. Schulz also wrote and produced several animated television specials; the first, <i>A Charlie Brown Christmas</i>, won an Emmy Award.</p>
