Cartoonist Frank Miller: Iowa Time Machine February 17, 1983

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On February 17, 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Des Moines Register Frank Miller passed away. He won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for a nuclear‑war cartoon and was widely regarded as “Iowa’s own” political cartoonist, with his work syndicated in nearly 50 newspapers nationwide.

Born in Kansas City, Miller studied at the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Art Institute before serving in World War II. Upon his return, he broke onto the national stage at the Kansas City Star. In 1951, Des Moines Register editor Kenneth MacDonald offered Miller the position of cartoonist, as Miller's former teacher, Karl Mattern, a Grant Wood contemporary, had recommended him for the job. Miller couldn't accept immediately because he was recalled to serve with the Seventh Division artillery during the Korean War. Finally, in 1953, Miller joined The Register, where he embarked on a distinguished 30-year career in editorial cartooning.

The newspaper's tradition of front-page political cartoons dated back to 1906, and Miller inherited a legacy that positioned the Register as one of America's premier newspapers. His father had been a cartoonist for the Kansas City Star, so Miller understood from childhood the power of images to shape public discourse. Miller, who worked at the Kansas City Star before joining the Des Moines Register staff 29 years ago, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for his cartoon depicting the aftermath of a nuclear war.

During that time, Frank Miller drew more than 10,000 cartoons, receiving many honors, including the National Headline Award in 1957 and the Freedom Foundation Award six times between 1955 and 1964. The Sigma Delta Chi journalism fraternity gave him the Courage in Journalism Award in 1961 for "placing people, foibles and the times in their proper perspective by deflating stuffed shirts and debunking sacred cows wherever he finds them." It is important not to confuse this Frank Miller with the later comic‑book writer of The Dark Knight Returns. #Iowa #OTD #Cartoons #Pulitzer #History