WHEREAS, Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz, creator of the comic strip “Peanuts,” has announced his retirement; and

WHEREAS, A man of modest origins, born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on November 26, 1922, Mr. Schulz would have seemed unlikely to achieve international acclaim; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz has been a resident of Sonoma County, California, for 40 years and currently resides in the City of Santa Rosa; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz was drafted into the Army during World War II, before successfully selling any of his cartoons and where he excelled as an infantryman, a staff sergeant, and the leader of a machinegun squad; and

WHEREAS, “Peanuts,” with its simple drawing style, gentle humor, and universal themes, debuted in seven newspapers on October 2, 1950; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz wrote, drew, colored, and lettered every “Peanuts” strip in a remarkably durable and productive career encompassing the past 50 years; and

WHEREAS, “Peanuts” is the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip, published in 21 languages and read by an estimated 355 million persons in 2,600 newspapers in 75 nations; and

WHEREAS, “Peanuts” has been the subject of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, 50 animated television specials, a successful Broadway production, more than 1,400 books, and four feature films; and

WHEREAS, “Peanuts” also brought Mr. Schulz a host of honors, including two Reuben awards from the National Cartoonists Society, five Emmy and two Peabody awards, the rank of Commander of Arts and Letters from the French government for excellence in the arts, and induction into the Cartoonists’ Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz has firmly established Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and other “Peanuts” characters as popular-culture icons that are cherished by generations of readers; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz has been generous with his talent and resources in contributing to the community through numerous philanthropic efforts; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz has graciously shared his knowledge of cartooning with other artists and cartoonists; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Schulz has influenced many of the nation’s foremost cartoonists with his depiction of children exploring such grownup topics as philosophy, literature, poetry, classical music, psychiatry, and religion; now, therefore, be it