"Ding" Darling, the man

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Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling took his middle name from his birthplace of Norwood, Michigan, but considered himself an Iowan. Darling credited his childhood in Sioux City with teaching him lifelong lessons in the conservation of nature's resources. He took his famous nickname from the contraction of his surname--"D'ing."

Darling, one of the most influential Iowans in the 20th century conservation movement, was born October 21, 1876. The Darling family settled in Sioux City when he was 10 years of age.

Ding attended Beloit College in Wisconsin, intent on following an uncle into a medical career. Following his graduation, in an effort to save money for medical school tuition, he worked as a reporter for the Sioux City Journal, where he later began his cartooning career.

While in Sioux City, Ding married one of his former classmates, Genevieve "Penny" Pendleton on October 31st, 1906. Darling became a father in 1909, when his son, John, was born. His second child, Mary, was born in 1912.

With the success of his cartoons at the Journal, he continued his cartooning career at the Des Moines Register and then the New York Globe. After working in New York for a short time, Ding returned "home" to Iowa to work for the Register again. His cartoons were nationally syndicated by the New York Herald Tribune, while he worked for the Register and remained in Iowa. Darling went on to be honored with two Pulitzer Prizes for his cartoons.

Darling was a conservation leader as well as a cartoonist. He retired from the Register in 1949, but his conservation work was done throughout his cartooning career and after.

As a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman, Darling was a dedicated conservationist at state and federal levels. In Iowa, he was one of the original members of Iowa's Fish and Game Commission, where he encouraged the commission to conduct a biological survey of the state. The result was a 25-year conservation plan that became a model for the nation. Also, he used his own funds to create a wildlife research unit to educate Iowa State students about conservation management. Similar units are now in place in 38 states.

Darling's conservation work went beyond Iowa. Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Darling to a "special Presidential committee." The committee recommended a land and wildlife reclamation program to aid migratory waterfowl. Darling was later appointed by F.D.R. to be the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, the forerunner to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In the course of his long and productive life, Darling repeatedly was recognized for his stream of accomplishments. In addition to his Pulitzer Prizes, he received scores of major awards, honorary doctorates, the Audubon Medal, the Roosevelt Medal and the Hutchinson Award.

Darling died in Des Moines, February 12, 1962. He was inducted in the Conservation Hall of Fame in 1965.