Theodor Seuss Geisel (2 March 1904 – 24 September 1991) was an American children's author, political cartoonist, and illustrator from Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1927, he left his studies at Lincoln College, Oxford to become an illustrator, and he worked for Vanity Fair, Life, and various other magazines. He later illustrated for advertising campaigns and worked as a political cartoonist before publishing his first original book in 1937. Seuss was a liberal Democrat who was a strong supporter of the New Deal and a staunch opponent of fascism, and, during World War II, he became a political cartoonist. Seuss caused controversy for his racist caricatures of Japanese people and his support for their internment, which many regarded as a moral blind spot. He was also a vocal supporter of racial equality, environmentalism, anti-consumerism, anti-authoritarianism, and internationalism. Some of his classic stories include If I Ran the Zoo (1950), Horton Hears a Who! (1955), If I Ran the Circus (1956), The Cat in the Hat (1957), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), and Green Eggs and Ham (1960), many of which became movies or TV specials. He died in La Jolla, California in 1991 at the age of 87.