Frederick Burr Opper

Born to Austrian-American German-speaking immigrants Lewis and Aurelia Burr Oppers in Madison, Ohio, Frederick was the eldest of three children.

He studied briefly at Cooper Union, followed by a short stint as pupil and assistant to illustrator Frank Beard.

Hooligan was a tramp with a little tin can hat whose gentle simplicity and bumbling good nature made him a success.

Opper's other popular strips were Alphonse and Gaston, And Her Name Was Maud, Howsan Lott and Our Antediluvian Ancestors.

"[4] In addition, Opper drew influential political cartoons supporting Hearst's campaign against the "trusts" with characters "Willie and Teddy", depicting William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, "Willie and his Papa", satirizing McKinley and "Papa Trusts", and "Nursie", a depiction of Cleveland industrialist Mark Hanna.

[7] Cartoonists Russ Westover and Alex Raymond took part in an August 29, 1937, memorial to Opper broadcast on New York's WNEW.

Frederick Opper's Happy Hooligan (October 23, 1921)
Frederick Opper's "The Importance of a Beard" ( c. 1890 ) for Puck
Opper's cartoon The fin de siècle newspaper proprietor was an early use of the term fake news
Caricature by Opper 1895 of Germany's Bismarck & Britain's Gladstone as performers on the political stage.