Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Charles Schulz (1922 – 2000), was an American cartoonist, best known for the comic strip, Peanuts. As a child, Schulz loved drawing and often drew his family dog, Spike, who ate unusual things, such as pins and tacks. In 1937, Shultz drew a picture of Spike and sent it to, "Ripley's Believe it or Not," and the drawing appeared in Robert Ripley's syndicated panel. After serving in the army during WWII, Schulz returned to Minneapolis and worked at an art instruction company until he was making enough money from his comics to be able to do that full time. His first weekly series entitled, Li'l Folks, was the first time he used the name Charlie Brown for a character. He also incorporarted a dog that looked much like Snoopy. These comics eventually evolved into the Peanuts comic strip that ran from 1950 until Schulz's death in 2000.

At its height, Peanuts was published in 2,600 papers in 75 countries in 21 languages, making Schulz one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited as a major influence by many later cartoonists.