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John Wellington (Jack) Kent, was born on March 10, 1920 in Burlington, Iowa. He dropped out of high school to start working as a freelance commercial artist. At age 15, he sold some of his work to Collier’s agency. He served in World War II, and then returned to the States to work in a printing plant.
In 1950, his first syndicated comic strip appeared: “King Aroo,” and it was distributed internationally for the next 15 years. He and his wife, newspaper reporter June Kilstofte, lived in San Antonio, Texas.
In 1968 he began writing and illustrating children’s books.
He died of leukemia in 1985.
His work can be viewed at the Kerlan Collection at the Children’s Literature Research Collection at the University of Minnesota.
— Steve Mudd