Mary Tourtel

Born Mary Caldwell in Canterbury, Kent, on January 28, 1874, she grew up in an artistic family and trained at the Sidney Cooper School of Art. She became a professional illustrator and later married Herbert Tourtel, a journalist connected with the Daily Express.

In 1920, while working for the Daily Express, she created Rupert Bear, the mischievous little bear who first appeared in the newspaper's children's pages. She wrote and illustrated Rupert's adventures herself, giving the series its distinctive mix of gentle fantasy, bright visual detail, and verse.

Tourtel stepped away from Rupert in the mid-1930s because of declining eyesight, but the character she created continued to thrive long after her death in 1948. Today she is remembered as a pioneering British comics and children's illustrator whose most famous creation became a lasting part of popular culture.