Rube Goldberg, pen name of Reuben Lucius Goldberg, (born July 4, 1883, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died December 7, 1970, New York, New York), American cartoonist who satirized the American preoccupation with technology. His name became synonymous with any simple process made outlandishly complicated. Goldberg was elected to The Lambs in 1914. The club owns his self portrait.