Dr. Seuss Timeline

Today marks the 114th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as the beloved Dr. Seuss. Even decades after the publication of his first book, the whimsical writer and illustrator is still capturing the imagination of children – and adults – worldwide with his wacky themes, playful rhymes, and made-up words and creatures. To celebrate the man behind besties like the Grinch, the Sneetches, and the Lorax, let’s take a brief look at his life and work.

The Dr. Seuss Timeline illustrates some of the major events and achievements in the life of the author, as well as a few of his most popular books, such as The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham. While many have heard the interesting stories behind his major works, how the penname “Dr. Seuss” was born might not be that common-knowledge.

It all started at Dartmouth, where Theodor (Ted) Geisel wrote for the university’s humor magazine and even rose to the rank of chief editor. That changed abruptly, though, when he was caught drinking gin in his dorm with a few friends. As punishment for violating Prohibition, Seuss was barred from writing for the magazine and stripped of his editorship too. To continue publishing, he hid behind a variety of pseudonyms, such as T. Seuss, D.G. Rosetti, or simply Seuss. Several other monikers appeared over the years, including the pompous “Dr. Theophrastus Seuss,” which the writer later shortened to the penname we know today.

The Dr. Seuss chronology was created with Office Timeline, a simple-to-use PowerPoint plugin that enables users to quickly generate historical timelines, visual plans and schedules, Gantt charts, or other similar graphics. The image is free to copy and share and can be updated or restyled easily using the Plus version of the tool.

Download the Dr. Seuss Timeline for PowerPoint here.