Dr. Seuss

Author profile

born

March 02, 1904 in Springfield, MA, The United States

died

September 24, 1991

gender

male

website

http://www.seussville.com/

genre

Children's Books

About this author

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Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catch...moreTheodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"

In 1936 on the way to a vaction in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.

During WW II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.

In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat, which went on to instant success.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.

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

Also worked under the pen name:
Theo Le Sieg (less)

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Average rating: 4.15 · 546,658 ratings · 14,780 reviews · 227 distinct works

	Green Eggs and Ham 4.27 avg rating — 105,446 ratings — published 1960 — 45 editions	My rating:
	The Cat in the Hat 4.07 avg rating — 73,312 ratings — published 1957 — 60 editions	My rating:
	Oh, the Places You'll Go! 4.25 avg rating — 56,173 ratings — published 1990 — 23 editions	My rating:
	The Lorax 4.35 avg rating — 52,003 ratings — published 1971 — 18 editions	My rating:
	How the Grinch Stole Christmas 4.29 avg rating — 47,967 ratings — published 1957 — 38 editions	My rating:
	One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish 4.02 avg rating — 33,619 ratings — published 1960 — 36 editions	My rating:
	Horton Hears a Who! 4.08 avg rating — 23,300 ratings — published 1954 — 22 editions	My rating:
	Hop on Pop 3.85 avg rating — 14,023 ratings — published 1963 — 19 editions	My rating:
	The Sneetches and Other Stories 4.30 avg rating — 12,097 ratings — published 1961 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Fox in Socks 3.94 avg rating — 13,103 ratings — published 1965 — 24 editions	My rating:

More books by Dr. Seuss…

Quotes by Dr. Seuss

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”
― Dr. Seuss

tags: cry , crying , experience , happiness , joy , life , optimism , sadness , smile , smiling

45,870 people liked it

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
― Dr. Seuss

tags: dreams , love , reality , sleep

34,415 people liked it

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
― Dr. Seuss

tags: fantasy

14,486 people liked it

See all Dr. Seuss's quotes »

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8 total votes

4 comments

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