Charles Schulz was a cartoonist and the creator of Peanuts comic strip. Born on November 26, 1922, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz developed an interest in comics early on. As a teenager, he learned the art of cartooning from a correspondence course. After serving in World War II, he worked as an art instructor and created his first comic strip Li'l Folks, which was published in a local newspaper. He sold the comic strip to United Feature Syndicate in 1950, and the company retitled it Peanuts. Peanuts became one of the world's most successful strips, and has been adapted for television and stage. Schulz based the Charlie Brown character on himself and the inspiration for Snoopy came from a childhood pet. In December 1999, Schulz retired from cartooning, citing health problems. His final daily Peanuts newspaper strip appeared on January 3, 2000, and his Sunday Peanuts strip ran on February 7, 2000. A few days later, on February 12, Schulz died at his home in Santa Rosa, California, from colon cancer. After his death, Schulz received several honors, including the Congressional Gold Medal from the U.S. Congress in 2001.