Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast (born September 27, 1840 in Landau, Rhine Palatinate, Kingdom of Bavaria – died December 7, 1902 in Guayaquil, Ecuador) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist considered to be the ‟Father of the American Cartoon.” Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus (based on the traditional German figures of Sankt Nikolaus and Weihnachtsmann) and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party (GOP).