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Ted Rall was born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1963, raised in Kettering, Ohio, and graduated from high school in 1981. His first cartoons were published in the Kettering-Oakwood (Ohio) Times in 1980. He attended Columbia University's School of Engineering as a physics major from 1981 until 1984, where he drew cartoons for the Columbia Daily Spectator and other campus publications.

In 1984, Rall was expelled from Columbia Engineering for disciplinary and academic reasons. He gave up drawing cartoons during the mid-'80s, instead devoting himself to his work as a trader/trainee at Bear Stearns brokerage firm and a loan officer at the Industrial Bank of Japan. He moonlighted as a telemarketer and taxi driver.

Inspired after meeting guerrilla artist Keith Haring in 1986, Rall began posting his cartoons in New York City public places to get attention. He eventually picked up 12 clients through self-syndication. In 1990, he quit Wall Street to return to Columbia, where he graduated with honors in history in 1991.

In 1991, Chronicle Features signed Rall's cartoons for national syndication. His cartoons now appear in nearly 100 publications. He focuses on issues important to young adults, such as un- and underemployment, the environment and pop culture, but he also comments on political and social trends in general. Aside from exposure in the mainstream media, Rall's cartoons and writing appear in alternative venues as well.

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