NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Rube Goldberg

Reuben Garret L. Goldberg (July 4, 1883 - December 7, 1970) was an American cartoonist who received a 1948 Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning. He is best known for his series of popular cartoons depicting Rube Goldberg machines, complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. The Reuben Award of the National Cartoonists Society is named in his honor. In addition, there are several contests around the world known as Rube Goldberg contests which challenge high school students to make a complex machine to perform a simple task. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cartoonist Jack Elrod at work. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect. ... A Rube Goldberg machine performs a simple task in a complex way. ... The Reuben Awards, named for Rube Goldberg, are presented each year by the National Cartoonists Society. ... The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists created in 1946. ...

Goldberg graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco in 1900 and earned a degree in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1904. Goldberg was hired by the city of San Francisco as an engineer, however, his fondness for drawing cartoons prevailed, and after just a few months, he quit the city job for a job with the San Francisco Chronicle as a sports cartoonist. The following year, he took a job with the San Francisco Bulletin, where he remained until he moved to New York City in 1907. Lowell High School (San Francisco) Lowell High School, a public magnet school in San Francisco, is the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi. ... A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study. ... Engineering is the discipline of acquiring and applying knowledge of design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. ... Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ... The San Francisco Call was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. ...

He drew cartoons for several newspapers, including the New York Evening Journal and the New York Evening Mail. His work entered syndication in 1915, beginning his nationwide popularity. A prolific artist, Goldberg produced several cartoon series simultaneously; titles included Mike and Ike, Boob McNutt, Foolish Questions, Lala Palooza and The Weekly Meeting of the Tuesday Women's Club. One of the New York Journals most infamous cartoons, depicting Philippine-American War General Jacob H. Smiths order Kill Everyone over Ten, from the front page on May 5, 1902. ... The New York Evening Mail was an American daily newspaper published in New York City. ... Print Syndication is a form of syndication in which news articles, columns, or comic strips are made available to newspapers and magazines. ... The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... Boob McNutt was a comic strip by Rube Goldberg which ran from 1915 to September 1934. ...

Rube Goldberg and his wife, Irma Seeman had two children, Thomas and George.^[1] However, during World War II Goldberg began receiving a large amount of hate mail because of the political nature of his cartoons.^[1] He ordered both of his sons to change their surnames from Goldberg in order to protect them.^[1] Thomas chose his new last name as "George".^[1] George also chose "George" as his new last name in order to keep some kind of family bond with his brother.^[1] Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Hate mail (as electronic, postal, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. ... A family name, or surname or last name, is the part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ...

Rube Goldberg's son, Broadway and film producer, George W. George, died on November 7, 2007.^[1] For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... George W. George (February 8, 1920 - November 7, 2007) was an American theater, Broadway and film producer. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Professor Butts

While these series were quite popular, the one leading to his lasting fame involved a character named Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts. In this series, Goldberg drew labeled schematics of the comical "inventions" which would later bear his name. In 1995, "Rube Goldberg's Inventions," depicting Professor Butts' "Self-Operating Napkin," was one of 20 strips included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative U.S. postage stamps. The "Self-Operating Napkin" is activated when the soup spoon (A) is raised to mouth, pulling string (B) and thereby jerking ladle (C) which throws cracker (D) past parrot (E). Parrot jumps after cracker and perch (F) tilts, upsetting seeds (G) into pail (H). Extra weight in pail pulls cord (I), which opens and lights automatic cigar lighter (J), setting off skyrocket (K) which causes sickle (L) to cut string (M) and allow pendulum with attached napkin to swing back and forth, thereby wiping chin. After-dinner entertainment can be supplied with the simple substitution of a harmonica for the napkin. In music, an invention is a short composition with two or three part counterpoint. ... The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service in 1995 to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... This 1974 stamp from Japan depicts a Class 8620 steam locomotive. ...

Later in his career, Goldberg was employed by the New York Journal American and remained there until his retirement in 1964. During his retirement, he occupied himself by making bronze sculptures. His work appeared in several one-man shows, the last one during his lifetime being in 1970 at the National Museum of American History (then called the Museum of History and Technology) in Washington, D.C.. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... One of the New York Journals most infamous cartoons, depicting Philippine-American War General Jacob H. Smiths order Kill Everyone over Ten, from the front page on May 5, 1902. ... Rare, water preserved Greek Athlete 310. ... The National Museum of American History is a museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution and located in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ...

In addition to his 1948 Pulitzer Prize, he received the National Cartoonists Society Gold T-Square Award in 1955, their 1969 Reuben Award and their Gold Key Award (posthumously in 1980). The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists created in 1946. ... The Reuben Awards, named for Rube Goldberg, are presented each year by the National Cartoonists Society. ...

Goldberg married Irma Seeman in 1916. They remained together until his death in 1970 and had two sons, Thomas George and George W. George. Goldberg died at the age of 87; he is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. Mount Pleasant Cemetery can refer to a number of different cemeteries, including: Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey, USA This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Hawthorne is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York. ...

Rube Goldberg machine

A Rube Goldberg machine is an extremely complicated apparatus that performs a very simple, easy task in an indirect and convoluted way. The most horrible examples of his machines have an anticipation factor, as the machine makes slow but steady progress toward its goal. A Rube Goldberg machine performs a simple task in a complex way. ...

The term also applies as a classification for a generally over-complicated apparatus or piece of software. The corresponding term in the United Kingdom is "Heath Robinson" (machine or contraption), after the British cartoonist who later had a similar focus on odd machinery. The term "Rube Goldberg machine" first appeared in Webster's Third New International Dictionary with the definition "accomplishing by extremely complex roundabout means what actually or seemingly could be done simply." William Heath Robinson (May 31, 1872 - September 13, 1944) was a British cartoonist and illustrator, who signed himself W. Heath Robinson. ... 1888 advertisement for Websters Dictionary Websters Dictionary is a common title given to English language dictionaries in the United States, deriving its name from American lexicographer Noah Webster. ...

Rube Goldberg's inventions are a unique commentary on life's complexities. They provide a humorous diversion into the absurd that lampoons the wonders of technology. These satires of man's ingenuity resonate in modern life for those seeking simplicity in the midst of a technology revolution. Goldberg's machines can also be seen as a physical representation of the pataphysical, carrying a simple idea to a nonsensical, ornamented extreme. His work has inspired many cartoonists. Pataphysics, an absurdist concept coined by the French writer Alfred Jarry, is the idea of a philosophy or science dedicated to studying what lies beyond the realm of metaphysics. ...

A feature film written by Goldberg and featuring his machines and sculptures is "Soup to Nuts" (1930). Soup to nuts is an English figurative expression (or idiom) conveying the meaning of from beginning to end. It is derived from the description of a complete meal, whose courses range from firstly Soup, to lastly Nuts. ...

Encyclopedia > Rube Goldberg

Contents

Professor Butts

Rube Goldberg machine

See also

External links

References