Biography dr seuss theodore seuss geisel

As a child, I remember that the first children’s book I read was by Dr. Seuss. Many children, including myself, first learned to read books by Dr. Seuss. His illustrations were eye-catching, and the titles of his stories were creative and memorable. Dr. Seuss’s full name was Theodore “Ted” Seuss Geisel. 

He was born on March 2nd, Geisel was an author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He wrote more than 60 children’s books and had a major impact on society. This month we should pay tribute to a man who had a major influence on children’s literature.

Ted Geisel’s Early Life & Education
Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Henrietta and Theodore Geisel. His father owned and managed a brewery, but due to the Prohibition movement, it was permanently closed. In , Geisel’s father, Theodore, was hired to supervise Springfield’s public parks. Theodore would often take his son to Springfield Zoo located within the parks. The zoo was a major part of Ted’s childhood. Geisel enjoyed drawing pictures of the animals at the zoo. If his father couldn’t take him, he would often go with his mother or sister.

Geisel attended Dartmouth College, and became close friends with the students in his graduating class. He graduated in , and then decided to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature. At the time, he had wanted to become a professor. While at Oxford, he met Helen Palmer, who he later married in She persuaded him to pursue drawing as a career, and to give up becoming a Philosophy professor. Geisel dropped out of Oxford without earning a degree and returned to the United States.

Career as a Cartoonist
At the beginning of World War II, Geisel began illustrating political cartoons for PM Magazine. His cartoons often would depict satirical illustrations of major historical figures. In , Ted boarded a train to California and joined the U.S. army. Ted was deployed to the F

Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, –Sept. 24, ), who used the pseudonym "Dr. Seuss," wrote and illustrated 45 children’s books filled with memorable characters, earnest messages, and even limericks. Many of Dr. Seuss’s books have become classics, such as "The Cat in the Hat," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!," "Horton Hears a Who," and "Green Eggs and Ham."

Geisel was a shy married man who never had children of his own, but he found a way as the author "Dr. Seuss" to spark children's imaginations around the world. With the use of silly words that set an original theme, tone, and mood for his stories, as well as curlicue drawings of rascally animals, Geisel created books that became beloved favorites of children and adults alike.

Wildly popular, Dr. Seuss’s books have been translated into over 20 languages and several have been made into television cartoons and major motion pictures.

Biography

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born in on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ted's father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brewmasters in the city. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Although the Geisels enjoyed great financial success for many years, the onset of World War I and Prohibition presented both financial and social challenges for the German immigrants. Nonetheless, the family perservered and again propered, providing Ted and his sister, Marnie, with happy childhoods.

Ted left Springfield as a teenager to attend Dartmouth College, where he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth's humor magazine. Although his tenure as editor ended prematurely when Ted and his friends were caught throwing a drinking party, which was against the prohibition laws and school policy, he continued to contribute to the magazine, signing his work "Seuss." This is the first record of the "Seuss" pseudonym, which was both Ted's middle name and his mother's maiden name.

To please his father, who wanted him to be a college professor, Ted went on to Oxford University in England after graduation. However, his academic studies bored him, and he decided to tour Europe instead. Oxford did provide him the opportunity to meet a classmate, Helen Palmer, who not only became his first wife, but also a children's author and book editor.

Ted returned to the States and was contributing to Life, Vanity Fair, Judge, etc., when an editor at Viking Press offered him a contract to illustrate a collection of children's sayings called Boners. While the book received bland reviews, Ted's illustrations were championed; he considered the opportunity his first, official &q

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Who Was Dr. Seuss?

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, was a writer and cartoonist who published over 60 books. He published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, under the name of Dr. Seuss in

Next came a string of bestsellers, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. His rhymes and characters are beloved by generations of fans.

Early Life

Geisel was born on March 2, , in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, Theodor Robert Geisel, was a successful brewmaster; his mother was Henrietta Seuss Geisel.

At age 18, Geisel left home to attend Dartmouth College, where he became the editor in chief of its humor magazine, Jack-O-Lantern. When Geisel and his friends were caught drinking in his dorm room one night, in violation of Prohibition law, he was kicked off the magazine staff, but continued to contribute to it using the pseudonym "Seuss."

After graduating from Dartmouth, Geisel attended the University of Oxford in England, with plans to eventually become a professor. In , he dropped out of Oxford.

Early Career as a Cartoonist

Upon returning to America, Geisel decided to pursue cartooning full-time. His articles and illustrations were published in numerous magazines, including LIFE and Vanity Fair. A cartoon that he published in the July issue of The Saturday Evening Post, his first using the pen name "Seuss," landed him a staff position at the New York weekly Judge.

Geisel next worked for Standard Oil in the advertising department, where he spent the next 15 years. His ad for Flit, a popular insecticide, became nationally famous.

Around this time, Viking Press offered Geisel a contract to illustrate a children's collection called Boners. The book sold poorly, but it gave him a break into children's literature.

At the start of World War II, Geisel began contributing weekly political cartoons to the liberal publication PM Ma