Here’s the latest installment of Maggie Thompson’s ongoing look at important beginnings, middles, and ends, this time for March 20-26, 2026…

180 years ago March 21, 1846 Portuguese artist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro is born.

155 years ago March 26, 1871 French writer-artist André Hellé is born.

140 years ago March 26, 1886 Artist Crawford Young is born. He creates the strips Clarence and Pearl Button.

135 years ago March 20, 1891 Writer-artist Clayton Knight is born. He co-creates the Ace Drummond strip with Eddie Rickenbacker.

125 years ago March 24, 1901 Animator, cartoonist, designer, and inventor Ub Iwerks is born. He creates Flip the Frog and co-creates (with Walt Disney) Oswald Rabbit and Mickey Mouse.

125 years ago March 24, 1901 Golden Age artist Charles Quinlan (also known as “Carl Quinn”) is born. He freelances for such companies as Better, Fawcett, Fiction House, Magazine Enterprises, and Quality.

115 years ago March 24, 1911 Award-winning animator, director, storyboard artist, and producer Joe Barbera is born. He joins William Hanna to produce cartoons via the Hanna-Barbera organization.

105 years ago March 23, 1921 French comic book artist Pierre Brochard is born.

100 years ago March 21, 1926 The final episode of Wynne W. Davies’ Percy the Pommy appears in print.

100 years ago March 26, 1926 Belgian artist Tonet Timmermans is born. Lambiek says she is the first female author to work for Tintin magazine.

95 years ago March 21, 1931 Award-winning artist Al Williamson is born. His heroic fantasy stories begin with work for EC.

95 years ago March 23, 1931 Roland J. Scott’s Scott’s Scrapbook begins.

95 years ago March 26, 1931 Actor, director, and writer Leonard Nimoy is born. He is still best known for his performances as Mr. Spock in Star Trek and appears featured on covers of licensed comic books. He licenses his name to Big Entertainment for Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals.

90 years ago March 23, 1936 Spanish artist Ángel Del Árbol is born.

90 years ago March 26, 1936 Spanish artist Florenci Clavé is born. He’s known for his work for Dargaud and several Spanish publishers.

85 years ago March 23, 1941 Award-winning Hungarian artist and animator Zsolt Richly is born.

80 years ago March 22, 1946 Swedish artist Lars Mortimer, creator of Hälge, is born.

80 years ago March 23, 1946 Gag cartoonist John Caldwell is born. He creates the Caldwell panel cartoon.

80 years ago March 23, 1946 Comics retailer Jim Friel is born.

75 years ago March 26, 1951 Award-winning writer-artist Brian Bolland is born. Initially known to fans for his work on Judge Dredd, he draws attention for his covers and for his art for Camelot 3000 (with Mike W. Barr) and Batman: The Killing Joke (with Alan Moore). He creates Mr. Mamoulian and The Actress and the Bishop.

70 years ago March 21, 1956 Artist, publisher, and pro wrestler Pat Gabriele (also known as Angel Gabriele) is born. He works in the Rich Buckler studio, founds Fantasy Book Novels Publications, Hyper Graphics Studio, and Pyramid Comics, works for Marvel and DC, and participates in the Milestone Comics line.

70 years ago March 25, 1956 Italian artist Giovanni Scolari dies at age 73.

70 years ago March 25, 1956 French artist Laurent Vicomte is born.

70 years ago March 26, 1956 TV, film, and comic book writer Mark Verheiden is born.

65 years ago March 22, 1961 Writer, artist, editor, and IWW labor activist Ralph Chaplin dies at age 73.

65 years ago March 26, 1961 Artist Mitch O’Connell is born.

50 years ago March 24, 1976 British writer-artist E.H. Shepard dies at age 96. The Punch contributor is especially known for his illustrations of Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

50 years ago March 26, 1976 Buenaventura Press and Pigeon Press publisher Alvin Buenaventura is born.

40 years ago March 22, 1986 The first Stripfestival Knokke begins in Knokke, Belgium. It runs from March 22 to April 13.

30 years ago March 22, 1996 Motor City Comic Con begins, running March 22-24.

30 years ago March 25, 1996 Canadian artist Mike Roy dies of complications related to cancer at age 75. His Golden Age comics work was with the Funnies Inc. shop, and he contributed to comics from Holyoke, Archie, Hillman, DC, and Dell. His strips included The Saint, Ken Weston, and Nero Wolfe, and he co-founded a museum for Native American and Eskimo art.

25 years ago March 22, 2001 French comic book artist Pierre Brochard dies the day before his 80th birthday.

25 years ago March 22, 2001 Award-winning animator, voice actor, director, and producer William Hanna dies of throat cancer at age 90. He formed the Hanna-Barbera organization with Joe Barbera. Its first hit series was The Huckleberry Hound Show.

25 years ago March 22, 2001 German-Swiss artist Edith Oppenheim-Jonas dies at age 93. She created “Papa Moll.”

25 years ago March 26, 2001 Writer-artist Bill Yates dies from complications of pneumonia and Alzheimer’s disease at age 79. He created Professor Phumble and became King Features’ comic strip editor in 1979.

20 years ago March 20, 2006 Canadian artist and teacher Maurice Raymond dies at age 93.

15 years ago March 21, 2011 Spanish artist Juan Carlos Eguillor dies at age 63.

15 years ago March 21, 2011 Czech artist Gustav Krum dies at age 86.

10 years ago March 25, 2016 Scottish artist Ken Barr dies at age 83. He painted DC and Marvel work along with magazine and book covers.

5 years ago March 22, 2021 French artist Gérard Depralon dies at age 70.

5 years ago March 24, 2021 Belgian artist Willy Ophalvens dies at age 82.