Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, was a children’s author, illustrator, and animator. He was also a political cartoonist during World War II.

“Dr. Seuss” was the main pen name Geisel chose during his time at Dartmouth College. He actually got this after he was caught drinking with his friends and was suspended from activities and a humorous magazine called the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern. The pen name continued to be used, especially when Geisel’s first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was published in 1937. After that, he published more books, such as The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938), The King’s Stilts (1939), The Seven Lady Godivas (1939), and Horton Hatches the Egg (1940).

When World War II broke out, Geisel set aside children’s literature for a while and began illustrating political cartoons. After the war concluded in 1945, Geisel came out of a hiatus and returned to writing more children’s books, such as If I Ran the Zoo (1950), and Horton Hears a Who! (1954), If I Ran the Circus (1956), The Cat in the Hat (1957), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960), The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961), The Lorax (1971), The Butter Battle Book (1984), and Oh, the Place You’ll Go! (1990).  Many of his stories have been adapted into television specials and movies.

The next several decades were perfect for Geisel. He won a few awards and prizes from his amazing books, and his birthday, March 2nd, was adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day.

In 1991, Geisel passed away from cancer, so his wife took control of the licensing until her death in 2018. Today, we remember him as one of our favorite children’s illustrators and authors. As long as his books are published, he will be remembered.