April 18, 1938

1938George Bryant, American archer (born 1878)^[†]

George Philip "Phil" Bryant was an American archer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He later became President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games for the 1932 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals in Archery at the 1904 Summer Olympics in the double York and American rounds. In the team competition he won the bronze medal as part of the Boston Archery Club team. Bryant had not won any major titles before the Olympics, but later won national championships in 1905, 1909, 1911, and 1912.

1938Superman debuts in Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938).^[†]

Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, first appearing in issue #1 of Action Comics, published in the United States on April 18, 1938. Superman has been regularly published in American comic books since then, and has been adapted to other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games. Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, and fights evil and averts disasters with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, it was Superman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.