Today in History: Legendary children’s book author Dr Seuss is born

On this day in 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children’s books as The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Geisel graduated from Dartmouth College, where he was editor of the school’s humour 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.

Geisel, who used his middle name (which was also his mother’s maiden name) as his pen name, wrote 48 books – including some for adults – that have sold hundreds of millions of copies and been translated into numerous 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.

The first children’s 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. His first best-seller, The Cat in the Hat, a 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.

Many Dr Seuss books have been adapted for television and film, including The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and Horton Hears a Who!. In 1990, Geisel published a book for adults entitled Oh, the Places You’ll Go, that became a hugely popular graduation gift for high school and college students.

Geisel, who lived and worked in an old observatory known as The Tower, in La Jolla, California, died on 24 September 1991, at the age of 87.

Information courtesy of: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-seuss-born.