Robert LeRoy Ripley (1890 - 1949)

Born 25 Dec 1890 in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, California, United States

Ancestors

Died 27 May 1949 at age 58 in New York City, New York, United States

Biography

Robert Ripley is Notable.

American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist who is known for creating the Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd facts from around the world.

LeRoy Robert Ripley, better known as Robert L. Ripley, was the son of Isaac Davis Ripley (1854-1905) and Lillie Belle Yocka Ripley (1868-1915).

His first Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon was published in the 19 Dec 1918 issue of the New York Globe, and it was met with immediate fanfare.

In 1919 Ripley married Beatrice Roberts.

On 27 May 1949, Robert Ripley succumbed to a heart attack in New York City. He was buried next to his parents in his hometown of Santa Rosa in Lot 214 of the Oddfellows Lawn Cemetery, which is adjacent to the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery.^[1]

Birth date debate

Ripley's birth date is up for debate, which he reported it inconsistently. It has been given as the following:

• 22 Feb 1890^[2]
• 1891^[3]
• 25 Feb 1892^[4]
• 25 Feb 1893^[5]
• Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1890^[2][6]
• Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1892^[7]
• Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1893

Sources

1. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1399/robert-leroy-ripley: accessed 21 November 2023), memorial page for Robert LeRoy Ripley (25 Dec 1890–27 May 1949), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1399, citing Santa Rosa Odd Fellows Cemetery, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Consistent with his portion of the family gravestone with a birth year of 1890.
3. ↑ The 1910 census enumerated on 29 Apr 1910 places him at age 19.
4. ↑ On his World War I Draft Registration Card.
5. ↑ On his passport application
6. ↑ This is consistent with a birth month and year of Dec 1890 in the 1900 census.
7. ↑ On his World War II Draft Registration Card.

• 1900: "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9GR-YG5 : accessed 25 October 2018), Leroy Ripley in household of Isaac D Ripley, Santa Rosa Township, Precincts 1-3 Santa Rosa city, Sonoma, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 174, sheet 13B, family 281, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,114.
• 1910: "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVGH-KBF : accessed 6 July 2020), R Leroy Ripley in household of Martha J Mcbee, San Francisco Assembly District 38, San Francisco, California, United States; cit...
• Passport Application: "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDN-B9XH : 16 March 2018), Robert Leroy Ripley, 1919; citing Passport Application, New York, United States, source certificate #70346, Passpo...
• Draft Registration: "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6N1-T8G : 25 August 2019), Robert Leroy Ripley, 1917-1918.

See also:

• Robert Ripley on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
• The Origins of the Ripley Name