Theodor Geisel, renowned writer and illustrator, was born on March 2nd, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He attended Dartmouth College and Oxford University, before embarking on a career in advertising, where his cartoons, featuring Quick, Henry, the Flit!, gained popularity in leading American magazines.
Geisel's debut children's book, "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street", was initially rejected 27 times, but eventually published by Vanguard Press in 1937, revolutionizing children's literature. Following World War 2, he moved to La Jolla, California, where he wrote and published several children's books, including "If I Ran the Zoo" and "Horton Hears a Who!".
A pivotal moment in Geisel's career came in response to a 1954 Life magazine article, which criticized children's reading levels. Houghton Mifflin and Random House commissioned him to write a children's primer using 220 vocabulary words. The resulting book, "The Cat in the Hat", was published in 1957 and received widespread acclaim, cementing Geisel's place in children's literature.
In the following years, Geisel wrote numerous books, including "Green Eggs and Ham" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" (1966),which was adapted into an animated film with the help of Chuck Jones. The Grinch was narrated by Boris Karloff, who also voiced the evil Grinch, and the special premiered as a half-hour Christmas animation.
Throughout his illustrious career, Geisel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, and authored and illustrated 44 children's books, many of which have been adapted into audio-cassettes, animated television specials, and videos for people of all ages.
Following the death of his first wife, Helen Geisel, in 1967, Geisel married Audrey Geisel, who remained his wife until his death on September 24th, 1991, at the age of 87 years, 6 months, and 22 days.
