Theodor Seuss Geisel

Theodor Seuss Geisel was a writer, best known for his collection of children's books published under the pen-name of "Dr. Seuss".

Geisel was born March 2, 1904 in [Springfield, Massachusetts]?, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925, and entered Oxford University intending to earn a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, however, he met Helen Palmer, wed her in 1927, and returned to the United States. He began submitting humorous articles and illustrations to Judge (a humor magazine), The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. He became nationally famous from his advertisements for an insecticide. His slogan, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" became a popular catchphrase.

In 1936, while he sailed again to Europe, the rhythm of the ship's engines inspired the poem that became his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

As World War II began, Geisel turned to political cartoons, drawing over 400 in two years. In 1942 he worked drawing posters for the Treasury Department and the War Production Board. In 1943 he joined the Army and was sent to Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit in [Hollywood, California]?, where he wrote films for the Armed Forces, including "Your Job in Germany," a 1945 propaganda film about peace in Europe after WWII, "Design for Death," a study of Japanese culture that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1948. His non-military films were also well-received; "Gerald McBoing?-Boing" won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Animated) in 1950.

Life magazine published a report in May of 1954 on illiteracy among school children, which claimed that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. Accordingly, Geisel's publisher made up a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words, and write a book using only those words. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him, completed The Cat in the Hat. Later he would write Green Eggs and Ham using only 50 words. These books achieved significant international success, and remain extremely popular in the present day.

Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died September 24, 1991.