Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991). He was a famous American writer and cartoonist best known for his children's books.

Life and Work

Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, the Casque & Gauntlet Society, and wrote for the Jack-O-Lantern humor magazine under his own name and the penname "Seuss." He entered Lincoln College, Oxford, intending to earn a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, however, he met Helen Palmer, married her in 1927, and returned to the United States.

Related Topics:
Springfield, Massachusetts - Dartmouth College - 1925 - Sigma Phi Epsilon - Lincoln College, Oxford - Doctorate - Literature - Oxford - 1927 - United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He began submitting humorous articles and illustrations to Judge (a humor magazine), The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. One notable "Technocracy Number" made fun of Technocracy, Inc. and featured satirical rhymes at the expense of Frederick Soddy. He became nationally famous from his advertisements for Flit, a common insecticide at the time. His slogan, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" became a popular catchphrase. Geisel supported himself and his wife through the Great Depression by drawing advertising for General Electric, NBC, Standard Oil, and many other companies. He also wrote and drew a short lived comic strip called Hejji in 1935.

Related Topics:
The Saturday Evening Post - Life - Vanity Fair - Liberty - Technocracy, Inc. - Frederick Soddy - Flit - Great Depression - General Electric - NBC - Standard Oil - Hejji - 1935

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Even at this early stage, Geisel had started using the pen name "Dr. Seuss". His first work signed as "Dr. Seuss" appeared six months into his work for Judge. Seuss was his mother's maiden name; as an immigrant from Germany, she would have pronounced it more or less as "zoice", but today it is universally pronounced in Americanized form, with an initial s sound and rhyming with "juice". The "Dr." is an acknowledgment of his father's unfulfilled hopes that Seuss would earn a doctorate at Oxford. Geisel also used the pen name Theo. LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards) for books he wrote but others illustrated.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1936, while Seuss 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. Seuss wrote three more children's books before World War II (see list of works below), two of which are, atypically for him, in prose.

Related Topics:
1936 - World War II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As World War II began, Dr. Seuss turned to political cartoons, drawing over 400 in two years. Dr. Seuss's political cartoons opposed the viciousness of Hitler and Mussolini; some depict Japanese Americans as traitors. One such cartoon appeared days before the internments started.

Related Topics:
Hitler - Mussolini - Japanese Americans - Internments

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1942, Dr. Seuss turned his energies to direct support of the US government's war effort. First, he worked drawing posters for the Treasury Department and the War Production Board. Then, in 1943, he joined the Army and was sent to Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit in Hollywood, where he wrote films for the United States Armed Forces, including "Your Job in Germany," a 1945 propaganda film about peace in Europe after World War II, "Design for Death," a study of Japanese culture that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1948, and the Private Snafu series of army training films. While in the Army, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. Dr. Seuss's non-military films from around this time were also well-received; Gerald McBoing-Boing won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Animated) in 1951.

Related Topics:
1942 - Treasury Department - War Production Board - 1943 - Army - Frank Capra - Signal Corps Unit - Hollywood - United States Armed Forces - 1945 - Japanese culture - Academy Award - Documentary - 1948 - Private Snafu - Legion of Merit - Gerald McBoing-Boing - 1951

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite his numerous awards, Dr. Seuss never won the Caldecott Medal nor the Newbery. Three of his titles were chosen as Caldecott runners-up (now referred to as Caldecott Honor books): McElligot's Pool (1947), Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949), and If I Ran the Zoo (1950).

Related Topics:
Caldecott Medal - Newbery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the war, Dr. Seuss and his wife moved to La Jolla, California, a small community forming part of San Diego. Returning to children's books, he wrote what many consider to be his finest works, including such favorites as If I Ran the Zoo, (1950), Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953), On Beyond Zebra! (1955), If I Ran the Circus (1956), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957).

Related Topics:
La Jolla - California - San Diego - How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the same time, an important development occurred that influenced much of Seuss's later work. In May 1954, Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among school children, which concluded that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. Accordingly, Seuss's publisher made up a list of 400 words he felt were important and asked Dr. Seuss to cut the list to 250 words and write a book using only those words. Nine months later, Seuss, using 220 of the words given to him, completed The Cat in the Hat. This book was a tour de force—it retained the drawing style, verse rhythms, and all the imaginative power of Seuss's earlier works, but because of its simplified vocabulary could be read by beginning readers. In 1960, Bennett Cerf bet Dr. Seuss $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Curiously, Cerf never paid him the $50. These books achieved significant international success and remain very popular.

Related Topics:
1954 - Life - Illiteracy - The Cat in the Hat - 1960 - Bennett Cerf - Green Eggs and Ham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dr. Seuss went on to write many other children's books, both in his new simplified-vocabulary manner (sold as "Beginner Books") and in his older, more elaborate style. The Beginner Books were not easy for Seuss, and reportedly he labored for months crafting them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At various times Seuss also wrote books for adults that used the same style of verse and pictures: The Seven Lady Godivas, Oh, The Places You'll Go!, and his final book You're Only Old Once, a satire of hospitals and the geriatric lifestyle.

Related Topics:
Hospital - Geriatric

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Following a very difficult illness, Helen Palmer Geisel committed suicide on October 23, 1967. Seuss married Audrey Stone Diamond on June 21, 1968. Seuss himself died, following several years of illness, in La Jolla, California on September 24, 1991.

Related Topics:
Suicide - La Jolla, California - September 24 - 1991

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dr. Seuss did not like publicity. This may have been due to his German ancestry; as a schoolboy during World War I, his classmates used to nickname him "The Kaiser".

Related Topics:
World War I - The Kaiser

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~