17 Facts About Herblock

Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock, was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy.

Herblock's brother Rich became president of an industrial laundry and his brother Bill was a newspaper reporter for the Chicago Tribune and later for the Chicago Sun.

Herblock began taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago when he was eleven, and adopted the "Herblock" signature in high school.

Herblock won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1942, then spent two years in the Army doing cartoons and press releases.

Herblock never married, and, in the Post's employee index, his address was listed as simply "The Washington Post".

Herblock said that his family was conservative and that his father voted for Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Herblock pointed out the dangers of Soviet aggression, the growing Nazi menace, and opposed American isolationists.

Herblock always insisted on total editorial independence, regardless of whether or not his cartoons agreed with the Post's stance on political issues.

Herblock focused most of his attacks on those public figures in power, often on Republican figures, but Democrats who displeased him were not immune from criticism.

Nixon canceled his subscription to the Post after Herblock drew him crawling out of an open sewer in 1954.

Herblock had once used the same motif for Senator McCarthy.

The tobacco industry was a favorite target of Herblock, who had smoked at one time.

Herblock gave it up and had criticized cigarette companies even before that.

Herblock died on October7,2001, after a protracted bout of pneumonia six days short of what would have been his 92nd birthday.

Herblock won three Pulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning, shared a fourth Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for Public Service on Watergate, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award in 1957 and 1960, the Reuben Award in 1956, and the Gold Key Award in 1979.

Herblock used it to condemn corruption and expose injustice, inequality, and immorality.

Herblock's topics included the Great Depression; the rise of fascism and World War II; communism and the Cold War; Senator Joseph McCarthy; race relations; Richard Nixon; the Reagan era; the 2000 election and more.