Walt McDougall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Walt McDougall |
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| Born | February 10, 1858 Newark, New Jersey |
| Died | March 6, 1938 (aged 80) Waterford, Connecticut |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
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Notable works
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Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz |
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Walter Hugh McDougall (born February 10, 1858 – died March 6, 1938) was a famous American cartoonist. He created some of the very first full-color newspaper comic strips. He was also one of the first to draw regular political cartoons for daily newspapers in America.
His funny and sometimes critical cartoons appeared in newspapers like the New York World. These drawings were very important in the 1884 U.S. presidential election. After his work, political cartoons became a regular part of American newspapers.
Walt McDougall also drew comic strips for kids. One famous one was Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum. People also call him the first syndicated cartoonist. This means his cartoons were sent out to many different newspapers at once. He drew for the weekly columns of a funny writer named Bill Nye. McDougall also wrote books, including The Hidden City (1891) and The Rambillicus Book (1903).
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About Walt McDougall
Walter Hugh McDougall was born in Newark, New Jersey. His father, John Alexander McDougall, was a painter. His father was also friends with famous writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving.
Walt went to a military school. From age 16, he taught himself about art and drawing. He started his professional work in 1876. This was with the New York Daily Graphic newspaper. This newspaper was the first daily paper in the country to have pictures. He also sold early drawings to Harper's Weekly and Puck magazines. For a while, he even owned part of a newspaper in Newark called The Suburban. He married Mary F. Burns in 1878.
Political Cartoons and Their Impact
McDougall started working for the New York World newspaper in 1884. A cartoon he drew on August 10, 1884, was the World's first political cartoon. Several of his cartoons were very important in the 1884 presidential election.
One famous cartoon showed presidential candidate James G. Blaine having dinner with rich people. It compared this dinner to a story from the Bible called Belshazzar's feast. Many people believe this cartoon helped Blaine lose the election to Grover Cleveland. The cartoon was called "The Royal Feast of Belshazzar Blaine and the Money Kings." It was drawn with another artist, Valerian Gribayedoff. This cartoon was even printed on billboards all over New York City. Blaine lost the state of New York, and the election, by just over 1,000 votes.
Some writers say McDougall and Gribayedoff might have created the most important political cartoon in U.S. history. "Belshazzar Blaine and the Money Kings" made political cartoons much more popular. Soon after, they became a regular part of daily newspapers across the country.
Early Color Comics
McDougall is sometimes said to have drawn the first color cartoon in an American newspaper. This was a cartoon from May 21, 1893. It was on the cover of the World's first Sunday comic supplement in color. However, some people say the first color cartoon was by George Turner on April 2, 1893. That one appeared in the New York Recorder.
McDougall also worked with Mark Fenderson. Together, they are credited with the first American color comic strip. It was called "The Unfortunate Fate of a Well-Intentioned Dog." It first appeared in the World on February 4, 1894.
He drew pictures for the popular newspaper column of humorist Bill Nye for many years. This is why he is called the first syndicated cartoonist. His drawing of Bill Nye was well-known. However, Bill Nye himself reportedly did not like how he was drawn.
Other Works and Later Life
Walt McDougall drew the comic strip Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz (1904–1905). This strip was written by L. Frank Baum. He also illustrated his own novel, The Hidden City (1891). Other story books he illustrated include Comic Animals (1890) and The Rambillicus Book (1903).
His other comic strips included Fatty Felix, Hank the Hermit, Absent-Mined Abner, and Peck's Bad Boy. Another notable political cartoon appeared in Philadelphia's The North American in 1903. Pennsylvania Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker was often drawn by cartoonists as a parrot. He supported a new law that would stop artists from drawing politicians as animals. In response, McDougall drew Pennypacker and his supporters as a tree, a beer mug, a potato, a turnip, a squash, and a chestnut burr. This showed how silly the new law was.
McDougall wrote a book about his own life called This is the Life! in 1926. He passed away at his home in Waterford, Connecticut, on March 6, 1938. He was 80 years old.
Famous Works
- Notable cartoons
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"The Royal Feast of Belshazzar Blaine and the Money Kings" (1884) compares James G. Blaine to the biblical Belshazzar.
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"The Possibilities of the Broadway Cable Car" (1893), one of the first color cartoons in American newspapers
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Supporters of the "Pennsylvania anti-cartoon bill" drawn to follow rules against animal drawings (1903)
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As author
- The Hidden City (1891)
- The Rambillicus Book (1903)
- This is the Life! (1926)
As illustrator
- Nye's Thinks (1888) by Bill Nye
- A Little Book of Western Verse (1889) by Eugene Field
- Comic Animals (1890)
- Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz. Syndicated. 1904–05. Reprinted by Sunday Press, Palo Alto, 2009.
