Seuss, Dr., 1904-1991

Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991), beloved author and illustrator of children's books known as Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts to Theodor Robert and Henrietta (Seuss) Geisel. His father, the son of German immigrant parents, managed the family brewery and later supervised (1931-1960) Springfield's public park system. Ted Geisel grew up in the midst of a German American community coping with growing anti-German war sentiment, attended Springfield's Central High School as an average student and entered Dartmouth College in the fall of 1921, where he studied English and edited (1924-1925) the college's humor magazine, Jack O'Lantern . After graduating from Dartmouth, he attended Lincoln College at Oxford University to study English literature, but soon abandoned the effort in favor of pursuing a career in illustration. While at Oxford, Geisel courted his future wife, Helen Marion Palmer.

Geisel returned to Springfield in 1926 and began a career as a freelance illustrator by sending humorous pieces and cartoons to newspapers and magazines. With the encouraging sale of a cartoon for twenty-five dollars to the Saturday Evening Post, Geisel moved to New York and soon landed a job as a writer and artist for the humor magazine Judge . On November 29, 1927, he married Helen Palmer and a year later they made their first visit to La Jolla, California. In 1928, Geisel began what developed into a seventeen year advertising campaign for "Flit" insecticide, a product of Standard Oil of New Jersey. The "Flit" account provided financial security and time for the Geisels to travel abroad. Other advertising accounts included Essolube motor oil and Essomarine products (both for Standard Oil of New Jersey), the Ford Motor Company, the National Broadcasting Company, Holly Sugar, and Narragansett Lager and Ale.

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