Who created Bugs Bunny? Solved!

[SEATTLECHEF]

Obviously all the directors and animators that ever worked on the character contributed to the evolution.
However, the historical record has been less than kind to Bugs Hardaway. Not only is Bugs Bunny the only major character named after its creator, but Ben doesn't receive the credit he should for suggesting the calm, cool, and collected personality that developed. The drawing linked here http://bugshardaway.blogspot.com/ showa that Hardaway suggested the character that was confident and cocky rather than the frenetic screwball character that resulted from the Hardaway/Dalton co-directing efforts previous.
Let's give one of the pioneers of the "golden age of animation" the credit he deserves.

[Silverstar]

That still doesn't make Ben Hardaway the sole creator of Bugs Bunny. Hardaway did contribute to Bugs' evolution, true, but so did Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson and others. Each director and writer added their own nuances and quirks to the character and made him their own, each further fleshing out the overall character. Bugs is the son of many fathers.

[Speedy Boris]

I read an interesting article on michaelbarrier.com where Milt Gray, an animation director, mentions that the reason lots of directors wanted to claim responsibility for creating Bugs Bunny because back in the late '60s/early '70s, that was the best way to get more work. Obviously, animation studios would be more willing to hire you if you were the creator of one of the most enduring cartoon characters of all time, and if you had a hand in its creation (which it sounds like), you're not entirely lying, either.

It's not 100% honest, because from what I understand Bugs Bunny wasn't the creation of one single director, not only because his personality was refined and revised over time, but because there could've been many elements presented by many directors in the first place. Nevertheless, I can see why many directors would take credit for the creation of Bugs.

[J. B. Warner]

Bugs' creation was a group effort. Ben Hardaway planted the germ of the idea, Chuck Jones expanded on it, and Tex Avery perfected it. Then Avery, Jones, Friz Freleng, and Bob Clampett all took turns revising the character, and right around 1943, he was more or less completely realized.

[Anthony C.]

This is a tricky question. Bugs Bunny was a character which evolved over time, and there was this bunny character that had been around for at least the late 1930's created Ben Hardaway. Many other directors, including Chuck Jones (who pretty much created the modern character design of Bugs), took the rabbit and added to its personality.

However, Tex Avery pretty much took the rabbit and created the character's personality. It might as well been two different characters after Tex Avery seeing that every director who followed (especially Bob Clampett) added something to Avery's character. Personally, I consider Tex Avery to be the creator of Bugs Bunny.

[SEATTLECHEF]

It is a tricky question. Remember that the early cartoons featuring the Warner Bros rabbit were co-directed by the Dalton/Hardaway team. As I understand, Dalton was the senior of the two, and the early rabbit more closely reflected Dalton's personality. (listen to the Monohan interview http://www.reelserviceshawaii.com). The personality that this drawing suggests, and that the character flourished with, most closely resembles the personality of Hardaway. (some biographical information can be found at http://bugshardaway.blogspot.com/ . Hardaway left in 1939, presumably miffed at being "demoted" back to story man from director following the return of another director. Then Avery inherited the character and affected him, lengthening the legs, etc.
Avery is even quoted as saying, "It's a wonder I wasn't sued, I practically stole it...". I'm not claiming as such here, but I think it's clear that Hardaway offered more than gags. His artistic ability as well as his ability to create characters is, in my view, underappreciated. I also think it clear that Hardaway was responsible for suggesting the calm, cool, collected, confident, rabbit that developed. Every account of the inception of the character includes the posessive apostrophe, it was Bugs' Bunny that was born, the bunny drawn by Hardaway. Chuck Jones, in one of his interviews, states that the moment in time that the character came alive is when he "stood upright, not afraid", although he can't recall the exact moment.....well, this drawing is that moment.