Alexander, F. O. (Franklin Osborne)

Franklin Osborne Alexander (1897-1993), commonly known as F.O. Alexander was an American cartoonist.

F.O. Alexander was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 3, 1897. During World War I, Alexander served with the Camouflage Engineers in the American Expeditionary Forces. Alexander studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and at Northwestern and also pursued night and correspondence courses. While in Chicago in the 1920s, Alexander worked in commercial advertising and operated a cut service.

Alexander took work at the Western Newspaper Union and produced Finney of the Force, a comic strip about a police officer. He later drew the strip, The Featherheads after the departure of creator Van Zelm. During this time, Alexander worked from his home in Oklahoma. In 1931, Alexander moved to Philadelphia to draw Hairbreadth Harry for the Ledger Syndicate, replacing C.W. Kahles. Alexander worked on Hairbreadth Harry until 1939.

In December 1941, after a stint drawing editorial cartoons for the United Features Syndicate, Alexander became the staff cartoonist at the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin where he remained until his retirement in 1967. His editorial cartoons were also syndicated

A member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, Alexander received many awards. He was honored several times by the Freedoms Foundation and received the National Safety Council Award as well as the National Headliner’s award (1945), Christopher Award (1955) and an award from National Council of Christians and Jews (1956). Active in his church, Alexander also contributed cartoons to several religious publications.

F.O. Alexander died on January 17, 1993 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

From the guide to the F. O. Alexander Papers, 1943-1990, 1955-1966, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)