John T. (John Tinney) McCutcheon

Born in Indiana in 1870, John T. McCutcheon built a long career as a newspaper cartoonist, writer, and correspondent. After studying at Purdue University, he went to Chicago and worked for the Chicago Record before joining the Chicago Tribune, where he became one of the most recognizable editorial cartoonists in the country.

McCutcheon was admired for his range. He covered major world events as a war correspondent and combat artist, but he was also especially loved for cartoons that treated rural Midwestern life with gentle humor and sympathy. Over time, that mix of wit, observation, and plainspoken storytelling helped earn him the nickname "the Dean of American Cartoonists."

In 1931, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his editorial cartoon A Wise Economist Asks a Question. He remained an influential figure in American journalism for decades, and his work still offers a vivid picture of both public life and everyday feeling in the early twentieth century.