Profile of the Day: Dr. Seuss

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss! Today in 1904, beloved children’s book author Theodor Seuss Geisel was born.

Image: Theodor Seuss Geisel / Library of Congress

Geisel was boron on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Theodor Robert Geisel, a brewmaster, and Henrietta Seuss. After the family brewery closed because of Prohibition, Geisel’s father was appointed as superintendent of the Springfield public park system. Much of Geisel’s writing was inspired by his life growing up in Springfield. When he was a child, his mother often chanted rhymes to him and his sister to sooth them to sleep. He later said that this played an important role in developing his interest in rhythm and rhymes.

In 1937, Geisel published his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Readers, both young and old, adored his imaginative creatures and playful rhymes. Over the course of his long career, Dr. Seuss published 60 children’s books, including The Cat and the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Lorax.

Today, the National Education Association has adopted his birthday as Read Across America day to encourage and motivate children to read.

What’s your favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Explore Theodor Seuss Geisel’s family tree and share how you’re connected to the beloved children’s book author!

View Dr. Seuss’s Geni Profile