Celebrating the good ol’ Dr. Seuss

This archived article was written by: Shadayah Jones

Castle Heights Elementary School celebrated the birthday of one of the most famous authors in the world. On March 2, 1904, the famous Theodore Seuss Geisel, or better known as Dr. Seuss, was born. As part of the celebration, students from USU Eastern volunteered to go to an elementary school and read some of Dr. Seuss’ most famous works. Dezzi Mangum, a freshman, said, “It was really fun, especially with the little kids because they really enjoyed it.”
Theodore Geisel was born in Massachusetts where his family were famous brew masters. When Geisel was a teenager, he attended Dartmouth College where he was the editor-in-chief of the college’s humor magazine Jack-O-Lantern. This high position soon came to a hault when he and his friends were caught drinking, which was against the prohibition time and school policy.
Although he was demoted, Geisel contributed to the magazine but signed his work by Seuss. This is when the Seuss name started.
To please his father, who wanted him to become a college professor, Geisel transferred to Oxford University in England after he graduated. This is when he met his first wife, Helen Palmers, who just so happened to be an author and book editor. School struck no interest in Geisel and he soon dropped out of Oxford and toured Europe.
After returning to the United States, Geisel worked for several magazines. Finally Geisel got his big break when his first book “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” was published. This was the first book Geisel published under the name Dr. Seuss. This book was rejected 27 times before finally being published.
Perhaps the biggest break in his career was when he wrote, “The Cat in the Hat.” From the beginning of his career to his death on Sept. 24, 1991, Geisel published 44 children’s books. They were published in more than 15 languages and over 200 million copies.
Dr. Seuss was not really a doctor. Seuss was his middle name and he put Dr. in front of it because his father always wanted him to get a doctorate degree.
His famous book, “Green Eggs and Ham,” was written because of a bet. He was bet that he could not write a book in 50 words for less. Seuss won the bet, but never got paid, however, “Green Eggs and Ham” became one of his most famous works.
Dr. Seuss served in the Army during World War II.
He died of throat cancer at the age of 87.
“The Cat in the Hat” was only written using 250 words.
Dr. Seuss was married two times, but never had children. His book “Yertle the Turtle” was about Hitler. Dr. Seuss was for the books that he wrote and illustrated, but he also wrote under the name of Theo LeSieg. LeSieg is Geisal backwards. The famous character of The Grinch was actually written about himself. “If I Ran the Zoo” holds the distinction of being the first published record of the word “nerd.”