Theodor Seuss Geisel (pronounced GUYsell) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904, the son of German immigrants. He graduated from Dartmouth University with rather unremarkable grades. (He just scraped through with a C in Botany by doing extra memorization work given by the teacher to elevate his lowly D.) *(1) He would much rather sketch the odd-shaped animals and characters that would later be his signature artform.
During his years at Dartmouth, Theodor was a member of the student newspaper, the Jack-o-Lantern. He was elected to the post of editor in May of 1924. His big desire, he said, was to run the newspaper, and that if he hadn't his "whole life would have been a failure." He wrote and illustrated under several by-lines for the Jack-o-Lantern, including his middle name, Seuss.
Geisel attended Oxford University in England in 1925 in an effort to earn his Doctorate degree in English. His disliked almost everything about the place, particularly the classes. Rather than taking notes, he sketched, drawing quirky pictures related to the lessons. He also drew cartoons displaying exactly how unhappy he felt. Finally, a teacher noticed and suggested that Oxford was not the place for him. Geisel wrote, "English and writing was my major, but I think that's a mistake for anybody. That's teaching you the mechanics of getting water out of a well that may not exist."
Leaving university behind, Geisel toured Europe, soaking up history and art on his own terms. Before he left, a fellow student caught his eye. Helen Palmer, also an American, was fascinated by his art. They fell in love. After moving back to Springfield in 1927, the couple were wed.
"Judge" magazine hired the young man as artist and writer, at the princely sum of $75/week. In a few weeks, he changed his by-line to reflect the degree he was unable to earn at Oxford. Theodor Geisel became Dr. Seuss.
Unfortunately, the magazine was almost always on hard times and his wages were cut to $50 and then down to barter. He was paid in cases of shaving cream, soda, nail clippers and even hotel stays that he didn't particularly want.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Susanna McLeod's Cartoonists topic, please visit the Discussions page.