Jay Norwood Darling
Encyclopedia
Darling was born in Norwood, Michigan, where his parents, Marcellus and Clara, had recently moved so that Marcellus could begin work as a minister. In 1886, the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
. Darling began college at Yankton College
Yankton College
Yankton College was a small liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches .Founded in 1881, it was the first institution of higher learning in the Dakota Territory...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
in 1894, changing to Beloit College
Beloit College
Beloit College is a liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, USA. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, and has an enrollment of roughly 1,300 undergraduate students. Beloit is the oldest continuously operated college in Wisconsin, and has the oldest building of any college...
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
the following year. There he became art editor of the yearbook and began signing his work as a contraction of his last name, D'ing, a nickname which stuck.
Editorial cartoons
In 1900, Ding became a reporter for the Sioux City JournalSioux City Journal
The Sioux City Journal is the daily newspaper of Sioux City, Iowa. The publication covers western Iowa and portions of Nebraska and South Dakota.It is owned by Lee Enterprises Inc....
. Following his marriage to Genevieve Pendleton in 1906, he began work with the Des Moines Register and Leader
Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
. In 1911, he moved to New York and worked with the New York Globe but went back to Des Moines in 1913. Three years later, in 1916, he returned to New York and accepted a position with the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
. By 1919, Darling returned a final time to Des Moines where he continued his illustrious career as a cartoonist, twice receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
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...
. His cartoons were published from 1917 to 1949 in the New York Herald Tribune.
Wildlife Refuge
Although Darling is mostly known for his political and conservation cartoons, he was also an important figure in the conservation movementConservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
. He conceived the idea for the Federal Duck Stamp
Federal Duck Stamp
The federal duck stamp was created through a wetlands conservation program. President Herbert Hoover signed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1929 to authorize the acquisition and preservation of wetlands as waterfowl habitat....
program and drew the first stamp design. Despite his inexperience, he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
as head of the U.S. Biological Survey, the forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida, just offshore of Fort Myers. In 2000, it had an estimated population of 6,064 people...
in Southwest Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
is named for him in addition to the Lake Darling State Park
Lake Darling State Park
Lake Darling State Park is a state park of Iowa, USA. It is in Washington County and the park is approximately west of Brighton; east of Richland; and north-west of Pleasant Plain....
in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
that was dedicated on September 17, 1950.
He also founded the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
in 1936, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt convened the first North American Wildlife Conference.