Nara Smith Reveals Dr. Seuss Inspired Name She Almost Gave Baby No. 4
You couldn’t call Theodor Seuss Geisel a fool, but one thing is true: He did not go to medical school.Â
The children’s book author, better known as Dr. Seuss, created a world of whimsy that has inspired countless movies and TV shows—including The Cat in the Hat, in theaters today, Nov. 6. But despite his famous title, Seuss never actually earned a doctorate.
In fact, while Seuss briefly attended Oxford to pursue a PhD, he dropped out according to Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography, to focus on writing.Â
Instead, he adopted the pen name to honor his father, who always wanted him to be a doctor. Of course, after using the title for years, he finally earned it when his alma mater Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1956. Â
As for how Cat in the Hat came to be? Seuss had written several books before he started teaching kids it was fun to have fun. In the 1950s, a director at Houghton Mifflin—a youth technology and reading company—challenged him to write a book using a list of children’s words without sounding absurd.Â
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