Theador Geisel aka Dr. Seuss - Springfield, Massachusetts - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts and influences of Springfield can be seen in his work. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Ted left Springfield as a teenager to attend Dartmouth College, where he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth's humor magazine. Although his tenure as editor ended prematurely when Ted and his friends were caught throwing a drinking party, he continued to contribute to the magazine, signing his work "Seuss." This is the first record of the "Seuss" pseudonym, which was both Ted's middle name and his mother's maiden name.

Getting the first book that he both wrote and illustrated (To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street) published, required a great degree of persistence - it was rejected 27 times before being published by Vanguard Press.

At the time of his death on September 24, 1991, Ted had written and illustrated 44 children's books, including such all-time favorites as The Cat in the Cat, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, the Places You'll Go, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. His books had been translated into more than 15 languages and over 200 million copies had been printed.

His honors included two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize.

This statue is part of the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Massachusetts.