Theodor Geisel was better known as Dr. Seuss. As a child he loved to read Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift and Robert Louis Stevenson. He also loved to doodle. It is said that he had one drawing lesson in high school which did not encourage his style; so he walked out of that class and never returned. His drawings may seem simple - until you try to duplicate them. Geisel was ashamed of his German heritage as a child. There was prejudice against people of German background during World War I (1914-1918). As a child he would sometimes have to run home after school, because kids threw rocks and called him names. He would later use experiences like this one to write against prejudice. Geisel had other pen names - Rosetta Stone, and Theo LeSieg (Geisel spelled backwards). No matter what name he used to author his books, he would create words that would twist and curve our tongues. Geisel was the true Peter Pan, he never grew old at heart. "You can get help from teachers ..., but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room." ~ Dr. Seuss ~   Theodor Geisel was born March 2, 1904. He was the only child of Theodor Robert and Henrietta Seuss Geisel, born in Springfield, Massachusetts His first wife, Helen Palmer, an actress and writer was born in 1899 Theodor and Helen married in 1927 The couple had no children Helen took her own life on October 23, 1967 A year later, Theodor Geisel and Audrey Stone Diamond (pictured above) were married Theodor Geisel died of cancer September 24,1991.  He was eighty-seven years of age