Editing Thomas Nast (section)

==Early life and education==
Nast was born in military barracks in [[Landau]], Bavaria, Germany (now in [[Rhineland-Palatinate]]), as his father was a trombonist in the Bavarian 9th regiment band.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://cartoons.osu.edu/digital_albums/thomasnast/timeline.htm| title = Timeline of Thomas Nast's Life}}</ref> Nast was the last child of Appolonia ([[née]] Abriss) and Joseph Thomas Nast. He had an older sister Andie; two other siblings had died before he was born. His father held political convictions that put him at odds with the Bavarian government, so in 1846, Joseph Nast left Landau, enlisting first on a French [[man-of-war]] and subsequently on an American ship.<ref>Paine 1974, p. 7.</ref> He sent his wife and children to [[New York City]], where they arrived in June 1846,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=John |title=About Nast |url=https://thomasnast.com/about-nast/ |access-date=2022-10-02 |website=ThomasNast.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and at the end of his enlistment in 1850, he joined them there.<ref>Paine 1974, pp. 12–13.</ref>

Nast attended school in New York City from the age of six to 14. He did poorly at his lessons, but his passion for drawing was apparent from an early age. In 1854, at the age of 14, he was enrolled for about a year of study with Alfred Fredericks and [[Theodore Kaufmann]], and then at the school of the [[National Academy of Design]].<ref name="Oxford">Bryant, Edward. "Nast, Thomas". In ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Retrieved October 7, 2012.</ref><ref>Halloran 2012, p. 3.</ref> In 1856, he started working as a draftsman for ''[[Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper]]''.<ref>Paine 1974, pp. v, 20.</ref> His drawings appeared for the first time in ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' on March 19, 1859,<ref>Paine 1974, p. 29.</ref> when he illustrated a report exposing police corruption; Nast was 18 years old at that point.<ref>Halloran 2012, p. 26.</ref>