Elkanah Tisdale

Elkanah Tisdale (1768 – May 1, 1835) was an American engraver, miniature painter, and cartoonist, best known for creating the famous cartoon "The Gerry-Mander," published in the Boston Gazette on March 26, 1812, which led to the coining of the term gerrymandering.

Born in Lebanon, Connecticut, Tisdale began his career as an engraver and miniature painter, later founding the Hartford Engraving Company in 1798. He was a member of the Graphic Co., an association of engravers, where he designed vignettes. Tisdale's notable works include full-page illustrations for John Trumbull's McFingal (1795) and an engraving of the Convention at Philadelphia for an 1823 edition of A History of the United States. He also contributed to the field by mentoring future miniaturist Anson Dickinson. From 1813 to 1818, Tisdale worked in Boston, designing and engraving plates for Samuel F. Goodrich. Although he was considered a better designer than engraver, his impact on American political satire and miniature portrait painting was significant. Tisdale died in 1835 in Norwich, Connecticut.