Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Jerome "Jerry" Siegel (October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) was an American comic book writer best known for co-creating the superhero Superman with artist Joe Shuster. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jewish immigrant parents, Siegel met Shuster in high school and together they developed Superman as an archetype of the immigrant's assimilation into American society, drawing from pulp fiction influences and personal experiences of outsider status. In 1938, prior to Superman's debut in Action Comics #1, Siegel and Shuster sold all rights to the character to Detective Comics, Inc. (later DC Comics) for $130, a decision that provided short-term work but long-term financial disadvantage as the franchise exploded in popularity. Superman's success revolutionized the comic book industry, establishing the superhero genre and influencing countless subsequent characters and media adaptations. Siegel continued writing for DC, contributing to Superman stories and co-creating other characters such as Doctor Occult, the Spectre, and early Legion of Super-Heroes members, though often under pseudonyms due to contractual disputes. The creators' undervalued sale prompted lawsuits against DC in 1947 and later decades, seeking reversion of rights and royalties; while they lost initial cases and employment, public pressure and legal settlements eventually restored byline credits and modest pensions, but not ownership. Siegel's legacy endures as a foundational figure in comics, emblematic of creative innovation amid exploitative publishing practices of the era.

Jerome "Jerry" Siegel was born on October 17, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of six children in a family of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. His parents, Michel Siegel (originally Mikhel Iankel Segalovich) and Sarah Siegel (originally Sora Meita Khaikels), had fled antisemitism in their homeland before settling in the United States, where they anglicized their names upon arrival. The couple raised their children—three daughters and two sons—in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood, a working-class area with a growing Jewish community.