McCutcheon, John T.

John Tinney McCutcheon (1870-1949) was a newspaper cartoonist and war correspondent. Born in Lafayette, Indiana, McCutcheon graduated from Purdue University in 1889. After graduation, McCutcheon got a job as a cartoonist for the Chicago Morning News (later the News-Record; Chicago Record; Record-Herald). McCutcheon published political cartoons and was a correspondent covering the Spanish-American War and the South African (Boer) War. He illustrated the stories of his close friend, humorist George Ade, and wrote and illustrated stories of his frequent travels. In 1903, McCutcheon joined the Chicago Tribune, where he stayed until his retirement. He traveled to Asia and Africa, and covered World War I for the Tribune. His most famous cartoon, however, was "Injun Summer," first printed in the Chicago Tribune in 1907 and annually for years afterwards. McCutcheon was awarded the Dewey Medal by Congress and the Pulitzer Prize for cartoons in 1931. His cartoons appeared in John McCutcheon's Book (1948) by Franklin J. Meine and John Merryweather. He died in June, 1949. His autobiography, Drawn from Memory, was published in 1950.

From the description of John T. McCutcheon collection, [ca. 1911-1956]. (University of Illinois-Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 56997313

Chicago Tribune cartoonist, 1903-1947.

From the description of John Tinney McCutcheon cartoons, 1897-1944. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754871730

John Tinney McCutcheon, born May 6, 1870, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, graduated from Purdue University in 1889 and moved to Chicago to work for the Chicago Morning News, later called the Chicago Record . While working for the successors of that paper, he covered the conflict in the Philippines and the Boer War in South Africa. He joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1903, subsequently drawing editorial cartoons on a daily basis. He traveled widely, covering various political events. He served as the editorial cartoonist for the paper until 1946, receiving a Pulitzer Prize for his 1931 editorial cartoon, “A Wise Economist Asks a Question.” His cartoon entitled “Injun Summer,” first run in 1912, has been reprinted by various papers for decades. He received many honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Humaine Letters from Northwestern University in 1943. Subjects of his cartoons include foreign affairs, national and local political issues, journalism and the press, as well as general themes such as baseball, poverty, auto accidents, etc. National and international issues dominate after the advent of World War I. McCutcheon died on June 10, 1949 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Close personal friends included Vice-President of the U.S. and Chicago banker, Charles G. Dawes, and cartoonist George Ade with whom he collaborated on several volumes of caricatures.

From the guide to the John Tinney McCutcheon Cartoons, 1895-1946, 1895-1946, (Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections)

John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr. earned his Harvard bachelor's degree in 1939. He was the son of a famous Chicago Tribune cartoonist and followed in his father's footsteps by becoming editor of the Chicago Tribune.

From the description of Correspondence and Harvard memorabilia of John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr., 1935-1939. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77066638

From the description of Three student essays of John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr., ca. 1935- ca. 1939 (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77064393

Noted cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1931.

From the description of Letters, 1910-1920. (University of Iowa Libraries). WorldCat record id: 71355672

John Tinney McCutcheon (1870-1949), Purdue alumnus and noted cartoonist.

From the description of John T. McCutcheon Cartoons and Drawings Collection, 1903-1945. (Purdue University Library). WorldCat record id: 191802498

John T. McCutcheon chronicled significant events of the late nineteenth century and twentieth century as a cartoonist and foreign correspondent for Chicago newspapers.

From the description of John T. McCutcheon collection [graphic], 1893-1943, bulk 1914-1929. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 256774643

John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr. earned his Harvard bachelor's degree in 1939. He was the son of a famous Chicago Tribune cartoonist and followed in his father's footsteps by becoming editor of the Chicago Tribune.

Government 14, "Nationalism in International Relations" was taught by Assistant Professor P.W. Emerson; History 32a, "Continental Europe, 1815-1871" was taught by Professor William Leonard Langer (1927-1977), a noted diplomatic historian.

From the description of Notes taken by John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr. while a student in Harvard College, 1937-1938. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77064395

After seeing a game of table soccer, called "Sockey," played on an enclosed table with paddles and a ping-pong ball, John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr., had a board made and placed in his room. Players made comments in the book after games. Sockey came to be known as "foosball."

John Tinney McCutcheon, Jr. earned his Harvard bachelor's degree in 1939. He was the son of a famous Chicago Tribune cartoonist and followed in his father's footsteps by becoming editor of the Chicago Tribune.

From the description of Sockey comment book : please use after every game. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77064397

Artist, illustrator, reporter, editorial cartoonist, and adventurer.

John Tinney McCutcheon was born May 6, 1870, near South Raub, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. In 1889 he graduated from Purdue University, and moved soon after to Chicago to work for the Chicago Morning News, later known as the Chicago Record, and then the Chicago Record-Herald. In 1903 he left the Chicago Record to work for the Chicago Tribune. His long tenure at the Tribune, from 1903 to 1946, helped to win him the title Dean of American Cartoonists. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1931 editorial cartoon captioned, A Wise Economist Asks a Question.

From the description of John T. McCutcheon papers 1834-1996, bulk 1889-1950. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 72983146

Biographical/Historical Note

Chicago Tribune cartoonist, 1903-1947.

From the guide to the John Tinney McCutcheon cartoons, 1897-1944, (Hoover Institution Archives)

John T. McCutcheon (1870-1949) was an American cartoonist and war correspondent who worked for the Chicago Tribune for over 40 years.

John Tinney McCutcheon was born on a small farm several miles south of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County, Indiana on May 6, 1870. He spent his early childhood on the farm and his youth in neighboring communities. After receiving a B.S. degree from Purdue University in 1889, he joined the staff of the Chicago Morning News as an artist.

During 1892 and 1893, McCutcheon covered the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and in 1895 he first traveled to Europe. The presidential election of 1896 between Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Bryan provided McCutcheon with the material to open his career as a political cartoonist. While traveling abroad, the Spanish-American War got underway and McCutcheon served as a war correspondent in the Philippines returning home several year later after the Boer War.

After returning to the United States, McCutcheon started working on his first serial cartoons including Bird Center and in 1903 he joined the Chicago Tribune for whom he contributed editorial cartoons, illustrations and feature stories. During the first years of World War I, McCutcheon reported from Europe.

McCutcheon continued to travel extensively. He purchased his own island, Salt Cay in 1916 and went on hunting trips with several U.S. generals. He made several trips around the world and in 1909-1910 he spent over four months in Africa on a big game hunt, all the while contributing articles to the Chicago Tribune .

McCutcheon's cartoons ran the gamut from presidential races and national politics to societal changes and economic hardships. He published illustrations in magazines such as Cosmopolitan and illustrated several books by George Ade, a fellow Indianan and Purdue graduate whose humorous "fables" were popular from the late nineteenth century through the 1930s. His illustrations were also used by several railroads. McCutcheon's autobiography, Drawn from Memory, was published posthumously in 1950.

Purdue University and Notre Dame awarded him honorary doctoral degrees in 1926 and 1931 respectively and McCutcheon also lectured throughout the United States. His cartoons earned him an international reputation and he received a Pulitzer Prize for his 1931 cartoon, "A Wise Economist Asks a Question." He was a member of the Royal Geographical Society of London, the Chicago Zoological Society (of which he served as president for over twenty years), the University Players and Coffee House of New York, the Military Order of Carabao and the Society of Manila Bay of Washington.

Following serious illness, McCutcheon retired from the Chicago Tribune in 1946. John T. McCutcheon died June 10, 1949 in Lake Forest, Illinois. His son, Shaw McCutcheon is an editorial cartoonist.

From the guide to the John T. McCutcheon Papers, 1895-1947, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)