-
Born in Springfield, MA
Parents: Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Seuss. His older sister was Margaretha or "Marnie." The German pronunciation of Seuss was Zoyce, but readers pronounced it Soose, rhyming with Mother Goose, so he did, too. -
World War I begins
-
World War I ends
-
Prohibition began
When Prohibition began, Ted's father lost his job at the family brewery. Times were harder in the household. -
Period: to
Attends Dartmouth College
Edited and wrote for Jack-O-Lantern, a humor amagazine on campus -
Attended Oxford University
He met Helen Palmer, another American student, who was studying to be a teacher. When he dropped out of Oxford, he added "Dr." to Seuss because he had disappointed his father. -
Moved to New York City to work at Judge magazine
Getting this job meant that he was financially able to marry Helen, who had been teaching in New Jersey after her graduation from Oxford University. -
Married Helen Palmer
-
Drew the cartoon about Flit, a popular bug killer
He was then offered a job at H.K. McCann Advertising Agency, makers of Flit insect spray, for whom Dr. Seuss drew advertisements for the next seventeen years. (Photo: VintageCatalogdotnet) -
-
Ted's mother died
Death month and date not available. -
Period: to
Ted's father employed as supervisor of Springfield's public park system
Month-dates and day-dates unavailable. -
Prohibition ends
-
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry StreetOn trip to Europe in 1936, he wrote the story. It was sent to 27 publishers who all refused it. Vanguard Press (#28) agreed--the editor was a college buddy of Dr. Seuss! -
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
The idea came from his collection of hats obtained from all his travels. -
Period: to
World War II
During WWII, Dr. Seuss drew political cartoons for PM magazine to convince America to enter the war. German forces surrender at Rheims, northern France. -
The King's Stilts
Month/day unavailable -
Horton Hatches the Egg
Horton Hatches the Egg The Mayzie bird will lend her name to another Seuss character, Daisy-Head Mayzie. -
Joined U.S. Army Motion Picture Unit
Private SNAFU: Camoflague (YouTube)Assigned to Information and Education Division at Fox Studio, Hollywood, to make training movies for soldiers. He created the character Private SNAFU. He and Helen bought a house in La Jolla, CA. In 1944, his promotion was to Major. -
Discharged from U.S. Army
-
Received Academy Award(s)
1946 : Your Job in Germany, or Hitler Lives ; 1947 - Design for Death (a documentary about Japanese people) ; 1951 - Gerald McBoing-Boing. View the YouTube clip. Note : monthes and days unavailable -
McElligott's Pool
1948 Caldecott Honor Medal and 1950 Young Reader's Choice Award ; Marco from Mulberry Street reappears in this story. -
-
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
1950 Caldecott Honor Medal ; Bartholomew reappears from The 500 Hats in a sort of sequel. -
If I Ran the Zoo
1951 Caldecott Honor Medal. The word "nerd" was coined in this story and accepted into English vocabulary. -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
Racial segregation of schools is illegal in the U.S. -
Horton Hears a Who!
Horton Hears a Who!Month/day unavailable ; In 1967, made into a TV special which won a Peabody Award. -
-
Sputnik and the Frisbee
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 and 2 into orbit on October 4 and November 3, respectively. Wham-O makes the first frisbee! -
-
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Grinch was his favorite character--Dr. Seuss had a personalized car tag "GRINCH." The televised version (1966) by Chuck Jones won a Peabody Award. They next produced "Halloween Is Grinch Night" and "The Grinch Grinches The Cat in the Hat"--both won Emmy Awards. -
Beginner Books at Random House founded
The three editors were Ted, Helen, and Phyllis Cerf. Helen wrote and edited stories, signing her name "Mrs. Dr. Seuss." The Cat in the Hat was the first title in the series. -
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Yertle was based upon Hitler. According to Wikipedia, "The Red Hot Chili Peppers adapted the story in the song "Yertle the Turtle" on their second album, Freaky Styley, released in 1985." -
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
One Fish, Two Fish has been developed into parodies and theme park features. -
Green Eggs and Ham
Bennett Cerf, his publisher, bet him $50 he could not write a book using only 50 words. This is the most popular Seuss book, and the fourth most popular children's book of all times according to Publishers Weekly. Cerf never paid his bet! View it on YouTube! -
-
-
Hop on Pop
-
U.S. Civil Rights Act passed
-
Fox in Spcks
This was his first book of tongue twisters. -
Helen Palmer Geisel dies
-
Married Audrey Dimond
-
U.S. Apollo 11, first manned mission to land on the moon
-
The Lorax
Dr. Seuss claimed this as his favorite book. It was made into a TV special first aired Feb. 14, 1972, an animated film to be released March 2, 2012 on Dr. Seuss's 108th birthday. -
Microsoft founded
-
The Butter Battle Book
Purpose in writing was to make people think about nuclear war. It was the first children's book to spend six months on the New York Times Book Review adult best seller list. It was made-for-TV . In 1990, it was televised in the Soviet Union. Ironically (?), this occurred just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. -
Awarded Pulitzer Prize
Won for his half century of contributions to "the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents." He was the first children's author to win this prestigious award. [approximate day] -
Awarded honorary degree from Princeton University
Doctorate of Fine Arts - when he received his award, the entire graduating classes stood and recited Green Eggs and Ham for him. Michelle Obama was a member of that class! -
The Big Brag
Month and day unavailable -
The Lorax subject of censorship
Laytonville, CA, in the heart of California's logging industry was the scene; according to Wikipedia: "Terri Birkett, a member of a family-owned hardwood flooring factory, authored The Truax,[3] offering a logging-friendly perspective to an anthropomorphic tree known as the Guardbark." The Lorax Project -
Oh, The Places You'll Go!
This was the last book he published before his death. -
Dr. Seuss died
At the time of his death, over 200 million copies of his books had sold worldwide. -
Daisy-Head Mayzie
Published posthumously, this was the last book officially written by Dr. Seuss although he did not illustrate it. View its book trailer. -
My Many Colored Days
Published posthumously by Alfred A. Knopf; illustrations by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. -
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
Jim Henson Productions produced the first TV series based on Seuss characters. Forty episodes were produced with the show airing until December 28, 1997. -
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
"The book is based on verses and sketches created by Seuss before his death in 1991, and was expanded to book length and completed by writer [Jack] Prelutsky and illustrator [Lane] Smith."--Wikipedia -
Dr. Seuss National Memorial and Sculpture Gardens open
The sculptor of the gardens was Dr. Seuss's step-daughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates. -
-
Sources cited
Pascal, Janet B. Who Was Dr. Seuss? NY: Grosset and Dunlap, 2011.
Primm, E. Russell, ed. Favorite Children's Authors and Illustrators. Chanhassen, MN: Tradition Publ., 2007.
Woods, Mae. Dr. Seuss. Edina, MN: ABDO, 2000.
"Dr. Seuss," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss
Official website: Seussville
book covers courtesy amazon.com and wikipedia
images courtesy openclipart.org and animationlibrary.com
