Jim Lange

Who was Jim Lange?

James Jacob Lange was an American cartoonist who worked for The Oklahoman for 58 years and produced over 19,000 cartoons.

Born in 1926, Lange originally grew up in Minnesota until he moved to Iowa where he joined the U.S. Air Force during World War II. It was in Iowa where he meet his future wife, Helen Johnstone. She convinced him to move to Oklahoma where he later got a job as an editorial cartoonist. He arranged his contract with newspaper mogul Edward Gaylord. He started work for The Oklahoman on October 1, 1950. His first cartoon featured Governor Roy Turner.

Lange co-founded the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and served as its President during the 1980s. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993.

Lange's work was collected in a 1994 collection published by The Oklahoman. He was well known for his frequent use of an everyman character called "Mr. Voter" or "John Q. Public", described in an Oklahoman editorial as "bespectacled, mustachioed, fedora-wearing". In 2006 the Oklahoma State Senate voted to make this character the "state's official editorial cartoon."

Lange was forced to retire in October 2008 after 150 members of staff took buyouts, retired early or were laid off. He retired after 58 years of service. Lange died on April 16, 2009 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife and three children.