Thomas Nast was a German-born American editorial cartoonist known as the "Father of the American Cartoon". He is best remembered for his satirical political cartoons and caricatures that helped to expose the corruption of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine. Intelligent, creative, and inclined towards fairness and justice, he was one of the most influential artists of the 19th century and a crusading civil reformer who through the very power of his art helped expose the evils prevalent in the American society. Born in Germany, he migrated to America with his family at a young age. He performed poorly in school and was more interested in drawing and sketching than in studying mathematics or literature. He landed his first illustration job as a young man and soon established himself as a political cartoonist, depicting topics such as the civil war, slavery and corruption in a manner that was both witty and hard-hitting. He became a highly influential figure in American journalism that it was believed that he had impacted the outcome of every presidential election during the period 1864 to 1884. Nast’s tremendous popularity was not just due to his political caricatures, he is also credited to be the one who created the modern version of Santa Claus.