Dr. Seuss born
On this day in 1904 Theodor Geisel better known to the world as Dr.Seuss the author and illustrator of such beloved childrens books as The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham is born in Springfield Massachusetts.Geisel who used his middle name (which was also his mothers maiden name) as his pen name wrote 48 booksincluding some for adultsthat have sold well over 200 million copies and been translated into multiple languages.
Dr.Seuss books are known for their whimsical rhymes and quirky characters which have names like the Lorax and the Sneetches and live in places like Hooterville.Geisel who was born on March 2 1904 in Springfield Massachusetts graduated from Dartmouth College where he was editor of the schools humor magazine and studied at Oxford University.There he met Helen Palmer his first wife and the person who encouraged him to become a professional illustrator.
Back in America Geisel worked as a cartoonist for a variety of magazines and in advertising.The first childrens book that Geisel wrote and illustrated And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street was rejected by over two dozen publishers before making it into print in 1937.Geisels first bestseller The Cat in the Hat was published in 1957.The story of a mischievous cat in a tall striped hat came about after his publisher asked him to produce a book using 220 new-reader vocabulary words that could serve as an entertaining alternative to the school reading primers children found boring.Other Dr.
Seuss classics include Yertle the Turtle If I Ran the Circus Fox in Socks and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.Some Dr.Seuss books tackled serious themes.The Butter Battle Book (1984) was about the arms buildup and nuclear war threat during Ronald Reagans presidency.
Lorax (1971) dealt with the environment.Many Dr.Seuss books have been adapted for television and film including How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears a Who In 1990 Geisel published a book for adults titled Oh the Places Youll Go that became a hugely popular graduation gift for high school and college students.Geisel who lived and worked in an old observatory in La Jolla California known as The Tower died September 24 1991 at age 87.
