Stephen McDannell Hillenburg

Born: August 21, 1961, Lawton, OK
Death: November 26, 2018

Stephen Hillenburg was an American cartoonist and animator. He was the creator of Nickelodeon’s most admired television series, SpongeBob SquarePants. As a child, Hillenburg was fascinated by the ocean. In fact, he enrolled in Orange County Marine Institute to become a marine-biology instructor. Later on, Hillenburg attended California Institute of the Arts to pursue an animation career. He was then hired by Nickelodeon and created successful short films such as The Green Beret and Wormholes. It was soon after that Hillenburg was inspired by marine-biology to create Spongebob. His creation has affected many fans and won their support. He passed away due to Lou Gehrig’s disease.