Fitzpatrick, Daniel Robert, 1891-1969

Daniel Robert Fitzpatrick (1891-1969), commonly known as D. R. Fitzpatrick, was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American cartoonist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1913-1958).

Born on March 5, 1891 in Superior, Wisconsin, Fitzpatrick attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Fitzpatrick worked as a staff artist and cartoonist for the Chicago Daily News from 1911 until 1912. Joining the St. Louis Post Dispatch in 1913, Fitzpatrick was the editorial cartoonist there until 1958.

Fitzpatrick won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning for the cartoon, "The Laws of Moses and the Laws of Today" that was published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on April 12th of that year. The cartoon has been interpreted as representing disapproval of the rapid increase of laws and legislation compared to the few laws enacted by Moses. In 1955 he won another Pulitzer for his June 8, 1954 cartoon "How Would Another Mistake Help?" about French and possible U.S. involvement in Indochina.

Washington University presented Fitzpatrick the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in 1949 and the Sidney Hillman Foundation which honors investigative journalism gave Fitzpatrick with an award in 1955. The University of Missouri recognized Fitzpatrick with a Distinguished Service to Journalism Medal in 1958. However, Fitzpatrick's cartoons and actions often brought criticism. In 1940 the cartoonist along with several other Post Dispatch staff members were cited with contempt of court after they criticized the dismissal of an extortion suit against a State Representative. Fitzpatrick received a ten day sentence and a $100 fine.

During his lifetime, Fitzpatrick's cartoons were exhibited at the St. Louis Art Museum as well as the Moscow Museum of Modern Western Painting. In the spring of 1941 the Associated American Artists Gallery in New York City held its second exhibit of Fitzpatrick's cartoons. Daniel Robert Fitzpatrick died on May 18, 1969.

From the guide to the D. R. Fitzpatrick Cartoons., 1946-1958, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)