Goldberg, Rube, full name Reuben Lucius Goldberg (1883-1970), American cartoonist and comic-strip artist, born in San Francisco. Goldberg began his career as a cartoonist in 1904; by 1921 his cartoons were syndicated and published in many American newspapers. He was best known for several cartoon series, including Boob McNutt and The Inventions of Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts; the latter series was extremely popular for its depiction of outlandish and intricate mechanical devices that were designed to accomplish absurdly simple purposes.