John F. Knott

Who is John F. Knott?

John Francis Knott was an American cartoonist. He was born in Pilsen, Austria and emigrated to Sioux City, Iowa with his widowed mother at the age of five.

Knott started working at The Dallas Morning News in 1905. He drew daily cartoons in the paper during Woodrow Wilson's first presidential campaign and World War I. Knott's most famous cartoon character "Old Man Texas" was a champion for government honesty, low taxes and property ownership. It is believed his cartoons supporting American entry into World War I helped increase the sales of Liberty Bonds and donations towards the war effort.

Knott's cartoons were reprinted in several publications including The Literary Digest, Review of Reviews, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Evening Post, the New York Herald Tribune, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Philadelphia Public Ledger.