Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Every year, many students come in to the library requesting a biography on Dr. Seuss. We hand them a book on Theodor “Ted” Seuss Geisel. Then we get the question: “Who’s this?” This is Dr. Seuss, and he wasn’t a real doctor. He was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to German immigrant parents who made their living brewing beer. Before his mother married, she worked in her father’s bakery and would recite the baked goods in a chant to the customers. As a child, when Dr. Seuss could not fall asleep, his mother would recite these chants to him. Later Dr. Seuss would credit his mother “for the rhythms in which I write and the urgency with which I do it.” Dr. Seuss attend Dartmouth College where he became the editor in chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth's humor magazine. When caught throwing a party, he was fired as editor, but still contributed as “Seuss.” This is the first record of his using the pseudonym Seuss, which was both his middle name and his mother's maiden name. For more information on Dr. Seuss check out his biography or visit his interactive Website.