Nathanial Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1860s
Born	Nathaniel Hathorne (1804-07-04)July 4, 1804 Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 19, 1864(1864-05-19) (aged 59) Plymouth, New Hampshire, U.S.
Language	English
Alma mater	Bowdoin College
Notable works	The House of the Seven Gables, Twice-Told Tales, The Scarlet Letter
Spouse	Sophia Peabody (m. 1842–64; his death)
Children	Una Hawthorne Julian Hawthorne Rosa Hawthorne (Mother Mary Alphonsa)
Signature

External video

Booknotes interview with Brenda Wineapple on Hawthorne: A Life, January 4, 2004, C-SPAN

Nathaniel Hawthorne (/ˈhɔːˌθɔːrn/; born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer.

He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, and graduated in 1825. He published his first work in 1828, the novel Fanshawe; he later tried to suppress it, feeling that it was not equal to the standard of his later work. He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment as consul took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to Concord in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children.