During the early 1900s there were three major comic strips gracing newspapers: The Yellow Kid by Richard Outcault, The Katzenjammer Kids by Rudolph Dirks, and Happy Hooligan by Frederick Burr Opper, who in many respects is illustrated in the pages of history as perhaps the greatest cartoonist of his generation.

Opper’s character, Happy Hooligan had a personality that one couldn’t help but love. He had a sense of optimism only the luckiest of individuals still possess. Many wondered how this bighearted hobo, adorned in rags, and wearing a tin-can as a hat, could still show off a wide smile, even with his raw hand at life. Despicable consequences always followed his good deeds but his bright mood was only ever dimmed for a short while.

Like many hobos, Happy was a victim of his position in the social order of society. Upper class individuals or those who deemed themselves as “better” constantly judged his actions based on his shabby exterior and to add to his misfortune, Happy had horrible luck. Chaos seemed to follow his actions without regard to any pure intentions he may have originally had. Adding as a contrasting character to Happy is his brother Gloomy Gus, a name still used by many today as a slang term for a sourpuss. There was also a third hobo brother called Montmorency, described as a would-be aristocrat despite having the same poor position in life as his two brothers.

During the strips 32-year run Happy married his long time girlfriend, Suzanne and they eventually had a son who also enjoyed wearing a tin-can on his head. Happy Hooligan is considered one of the most extremely popular American comic strips of all time and ran for an extremely long period from 1900-1932, only discontinuing because the artist, Frederick Burr Opper lost his eyesight.