Where the Grinch came from… and more!

March 2, On This Day

Celebrating Seuss

If The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, Cat in The Hat, and Green Eggs and Ham are somewhat familiar childhood tales to you, it is of note that the iconic illustrator and political cartoonist who created these American children’s books — Theodor Seuss Geisel or “Dr Seuss” — was born on March 2, 1904. He illustrated over 60 books with his pen name, selling over 600 million copies in 20 languages.

During World War II, he took a brief hiatus from children’s literature to illustrate political cartoons, and also worked in the animation and film department of the United States Army. His art brought to life characters that continue to remain relevant well over a century after they came into being!

Quite an impression

Described as one of “les trois grandes dames” (the three grand ladies) of Impressionism — alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt — French painter Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot was part of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists, including Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley.

Because she was a female artist, Morisot’s paintings were often labeled as being full of “feminine charm” by male critics, for their elegance and lightness. In 1890, Morisot wrote in a notebook about her struggles to be taken seriously as an artist: “I don’t think there has ever been a man who treated a woman as an equal and that’s all I would have asked for, for I know I’m worth as much as they.” She died on March 2, 1895.