In November 1911, Knott's work started to appear on the front page of the news. During Woodrow Wilson's first presidential campaign and World War I, Knott began drawing daily cartoons and attracted national and international attention. In 1957, Knott retired from the News. During his fifty-year career as a cartoonist, he created more than 15,000 cartoons. Knott taught painting in Dallas public schools for almost twenty years. Knott was a member of the Philosophical Society of Texas and the Texas State Historical Association/  On February 22, 1907 Knott married Carrie Louise Bowen and together they had four children. Knott died in Dallas on February 16, 1963.