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Theodore Geisel later to be known as Dr. Seuss was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2,1904. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1925 and then proceeded to Oxford University intending to get his doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer whom he made his wife in 1927 and then returned to America.

He first worked for a magazine called Judge, which was the leading humor magazine at the time. He submitted both cartoons and humorous articles for them. He was also submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty at the same time. He was contracted to draw comic ads for an insecticide called Flit which he had often made references to in his works and it gained him nationwide exposure...He coined the phrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!".

In 1936 while on his way to vacation in Europe, he wrote his first children's book, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" It was rejected by the first 43 publishers he submitted it to. In 1937 he did get a friend to publish the book for him. It was a moderate success.

Geisel joined the army during World War II and was sent to Hollywood. There Captain Geisel wrote for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit and won the Legion of Merit Award. He also wrote several documentaries which won Oscar's; "Hitler Lives" and for "Design for Death". He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar. Life magazine published a report in May of 1954 telling their readers of the illiteracy among school children. The report related that children were having trouble learning to read because their books were boring. Geisel's publisher was very inspired after reading this article and sent his friend Geisel a list of 400 words that he felt that first grader's could learn and requesting that Geisel shear that list to 250 words and then write a book. Nine months later using only 220 of those words given to him The Cat in the Hat was published and was an instant success. This popular series combined engaging stories with Geisel's outrageous illustrations to teach children basic reading skills.

In 1960, Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he could not write an entire book using only fifty words. The result of this bet was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 bet.

Dr Seuss was the author and illustrator of 44 children's books, some of which have been made into audio cassettes, animated television specials, and videos for children of all ages. He was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and two Academy Awards........Dr. Seuss continues to be the best-selling author of children's books in the world even after his death which was in 1991.