Bruce Shanks (1908-1980)

Buffalo Evening News editorial cartoonist Bruce Shanks won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for his cartoon, “The Thinker,” which shows an American factory worker posed like Rodin’s famous bronze sculpture, somberly contemplating newspaper headlines “Crooked Labor Leaders” and “Fifth Amendment Dodge.” Among his other awards are those from the National Safety Council, twelve from the Freedoms Foundation, eleven Page One awards from the Buffalo Newspaper Guild, and the American Cancer Society. His cartoons were printed and reprinted internationally. During World War II he was stationed in Orlando, Florida as an Air Force intelligence staff sergeant. His political cartoons generally carried a humanist message.--NW