Lange was born in
Winnebago, Minnesota. While he was a youth, the family moved to
Dubuque, Iowa. He joined the
U.S. Air Force during
World War II. In Iowa he met Helen Johnstone, whom he later married. After his military service, Lange attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He and Helen moved to
Oklahoma, where he got a job as an editorial cartoonist, hired by newspaper mogul
Edward Gaylord. He started work for
The Oklahoman on October 1, 1950. His first cartoon featured Oklahoma Governor
Roy Turner. Lange co-founded the
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and served as its President during the 1980s. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993. He was known for his
everyman character, called "Mr. Voter" or "
John Q. Public", described in an
Oklahoman editorial as "bespectacled, mustachioed, fedora-wearing". In 2006 the
Oklahoma State Senate voted to make this character the "state's official editorial cartoon." Lange was forced to retire in October 2008 after 150 members of staff took buyouts, retired early or were laid off. He retired after 58 years of service. Lange died on April 16, 2009, at the age of 82. He and Helen had four children; he was survived by his wife and three children. ==References==