Cold Open

It’s July 1st, 1914, at a small zoo in Springfield, Massachusetts.

10-year-old Theodor Geisel, or Ted to his friends, sits down on a bench with his mom in front of one of the zoo’s main attractions.

A lioness prowls back and forth in her small enclosure. Just beyond the steel bars, a row of nervous kids chatter and point at the animal. But Ted isn’t here to gawk like the rest of them. He glances at his mom who nods her encouragement.

Ted pulls a pencil and pad of paper from his bag. And after a moment, he starts sketching. As Ted’s drawing of the lioness starts to take shape, his mom peers over his shoulder, a hint of a smile on her face. Ted is young, but already his parents can see a talent in the boy which they are eager to encourage.

And after five minutes of furious scribbling, a triumphant Ted flips the sketch pad around and proudly displays his work to his mother. His style is more cartoon than portrait. But there’s no denying the boy has a gift. Ted’s mom beams and tells him how proud she is of him. But Ted is already running off with his pad and pencil to the next animal enclosure - and his next drawing.

Ted Geisel's fascination with drawing won’t ever be a passing phase. It’s a gift that will one day make Ted famous all over the world. And his artwork will help launch national advertising campaigns, as well as drum up support against America’s enemies in World War Two.

But it’s his animal drawings which will be remembered most fondly - and none more so than the character gracing the cover of “The Cat In The Hat”, a children’s book by Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss that will be released on March 12th, 1957.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is March 12th, 1957: The Publication of The Cat In The Hat.

Act One

It’s April 11th, 1925, at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, eleven years after Ted Geisel’s trip to the zoo.

In his dorm room, Ted and a group of college friends are laughing and relaxing after a week of studying. It's a Saturday night but prohibition laws ban the sale or production of alcohol in the United States, so the students’ social life doesn’t include hanging out in bars. But in the relative safety of Ted’s dorm room, he and his friends stage their own mini-protest by passing around a pint of gin. Some of them not only study with Ted but also write alongside him for the college magazine “The Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern.” Ted is editor-in-chief.

But tonight no one is editing themselves at all, and the more the young men drink, the louder they get. It must be an annoyance, because the boys are interrupted by the room’s door flying open. A member of the college staff has come to see what all the noise is about.

And when the man sees the gin, things turn serious. Consumption of alcohol is strictly against college rules, and the boys are told in no uncertain terms that there will be consequences.

For Ted, the punishment is his removal as editor of “The Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern.” He’s disappointed - but not deterred. Because Ted finds a way to bend the rules. He continues writing pieces for the magazine but disguises the fact by publishing them under a pseudonym. He signs his articles using his middle name - Seuss.

And he keeps writing this way until graduation. Then, Ted leaves home to study English Literature at the University of Oxford in England. And it’s there that he meets his future wife, Helen. She immediately recognizes Ted’s talent for drawing and persuades him to give up the idea of becoming an English teacher in favor of earning a living from his art.

So, Ted returns to America without finishing his degree in Oxford and sets about finding a creative career. He works tirelessly, submitting both writing samples and artwork to publishers, magazines, and even advertising agencies.

It takes two years before Ted finally gets his big break. But in 1927, he sells his first cartoon to a newspaper for $25, equivalent of more than $400 today. By now, Ted is still using the pseudonym from Dartmouth - but with one slight change. He now goes by the name Dr. Seuss - a playful poke of his father, who had once hoped that Ted might practice medicine.

And after this first cartoon sale, Ted’s career as Dr. Seuss takes off. He accepts a position as a staff writer and illustrator for a weekly satirical magazine. His work is commissioned for ad campaigns. And before long, his cartoons are appearing in mass-market national publications like LIFE and Vanity Fair.

The extra money this brings allows Ted and Helen to move to an upmarket neighborhood in New York, mix with some of the city’s richest families, and travel extensively. And it’s on one of these overseas trips that inspiration strikes for what will become Ted’s first book.

As he and Helen are returning from a cruise to Europe, the rhythm of the ship’s engines inspires Ted to write a poem. When he returns to New York, he sets about drawing illustrations to match the verse. The result is the children’s book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

But selling this book proves a lot harder for Ted than writing it. He is rejected by no fewer than 27 publishers before a chance meeting with a former Dartmouth classmate changes Ted’s fortunes. The man just happens now to be a children’s book editor and when Ted shows him his work, the old classmate quickly sees the potential.

The two agree to a deal, and over the next few years, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and four more books by Dr. Seuss are released in the United States. But then, the outbreak of World War Two puts a temporary stop to Ted’s flourishing new career. During this conflict, he will turn his talents to supporting the American war effort by creating animations for the United States Army Air Force. But once the fighting ends, Ted will return to civilian life and to his writing career - where he will go on to create one of the most iconic characters in the history of children’s literature.

Act Two

It’s March 12th, 1957, in New York City, twenty years after the publication of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

A young boy and his mom weave their way along the sidewalk on the way to school. A bitter wind blows, and the woman tightens her grip on her son as they hurry through the early morning crowds.

They’re approaching a crossing when the woman feels a tug on her hand. She looks down to see her son glancing back at a shop window.

It’s a bookstore, and front and center in the window display is a new title that’s caught the young boy’s eye: The Cat In The Hat. On the cover is a huge black and white cartoon cat, sporting a red bow tie, and a red and white striped hat.

The boy pleads with his mother to go in and buy a copy. But the store isn’t open yet, so she promises to pop in on the way home. As it turns out she’s one of many who purchase the book that first day. The Cat In The Hat becomes an instant hit.

This newest work by Ted Geisel or Dr. Seuss has come about almost by chance. The previous year, Ted’s publisher read an article in LIFE magazine about the shortcomings in contemporary children’s books. The article suggested that books aimed at teaching children to read just weren’t grabbing the imagination of kids. Ted’s publisher challenged him to change that and write a book for first graders, using no more than 250 different words. But Ted only needed 236 words for The Cat In The Hat. And what he’s created is a book that encourages children to play around with sounds and rhymes - and makes learning fun.

The book tells the story of two kids stuck at home on a rainy day, who receive a visit from a cat in a hat and two strange creatures, and all the havoc that ensues. It's a winning formula and young readers love the book so much that after only three years in print, The Cat in the Hat has sold over a million copies and has been translated into different languages all around the world.

But Ted isn’t one to rest on his laurels. In that same time, Ted writes three more books, including one that will become another of his most famous works - How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

But neither The Cat In The Hat nor How The Grinch Stole Christmas will prove to be the biggest seller in Ted’s career. That honor goes to a book Ted writes in 1960 - a work inspired by a wager.

After the remarkably low number of words in The Cat In The Hat, his publisher bets Ted $50 that he can’t go one better and write an entire book using no more than fifty different words.

Ted accepts the challenge, but it proves to be far from straightforward. He creates an entire series of charts and checklists to keep track of the words he uses, but eventually, he cracks it. Green Eggs And Ham is published on August 12th, 1960, and is another instant hit for Ted - although he would have been fifty dollars richer if his publisher had actually paid out on the bet.

But in amongst all of this professional success, Ted suffers heartbreak at home. In October 1967, his wife Helen is found dead from an apparent drug overdose. Ted remarries less than a year later, and with his second marriage, there comes a subtle shift in his work. His new wife, Audrey, encourages Ted to use his books as a platform to address social issues. So as Ted gets older, his books have more pronounced themes woven into them such as environmentalism, racial equality, and the dangers of the nuclear arms race.

But as his themes mature so too does Ted. Time begins to catch up with him.

He is not as prolific a writer and illustrator as he once was. But his books remain popular. The first children who Ted helped learn to read, have grown and have children of their own. And when the time comes, many of them get down off the shelf a tattered and much-loved copy of The Cat In The Hat and read his manic adventures to a new generation.

Ted Geisel’s influence on young readers and on children’s literature will remain undimmed. And as he approaches the final years of his life, Dr. Seuss will be formally recognized for his work with one of the world’s most prestigious awards.

Act Three

It’s April 16th, 1984, at Ted Geisel’s home in San Diego, California, 27 years after the release of The Cat In The Hat.

Ted sits at a table with a newspaper spread out in front of him. It’s almost half a century since his very first book was published, and by now Ted is something of a national treasure. He has received honorary doctorates from universities, national librarian’s awards, and even a pair of Emmys after some of his stories were adapted for television.

But Ted's peace and quiet this morning is interrupted by the shrill ring of his telephone. When he picks up the receiver, Ted doesn’t recognize the voice on the other end, and the caller must identify himself as a member of the Associated Press.

Ted is no stranger to media attention, but even he isn’t prepared for the news that Ted has won a Pulitzer Prize. His award is a special citation that isn’t given out every year. It’s in recognition of his contribution to the education of America’s children through his books. Pulitzer Prizes have been handed out since 1917, but Ted is the first person ever to win one for children’s literature.

Ted’s nomination is the work of a group of San Diego newspaper editors. And one of the Pulitzer judges says that his nomination was met with almost immediate unanimity from the awarding committee.

The Pulitzer cements Ted’s place as one of the best-loved and most successful American children’s authors of all time. But for Ted, the prays and prizes were never the real reward. What he always cared about most was encouraging children to read. And for that, he, and his alter ego, Dr. Seuss will live on for years to come, as will many of his most famous books, like The Cat In The Hat, which hit bookshelves for the very first time on March 12th, 1957.

Outro

Next on History Daily. March 13th, 1996. The worst mass shooting in British history leads to the private ownership of most handguns being banned.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Matthew Filler.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Rob Scragg.

Edited by William Simpson.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.