Nathaniel Hawthorne - Biography

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) Biography Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804, on the 4th of July in Salem, Mass. His grandfather was a judge in the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel's surname, when born, was spelled, "Hathorne". After he graduated from college he added the "w" in order to make the spelling conform to the way it was pronounced. Hawthorne hated school, and barely advanced through his studies. Nathaniel entered, and subsequently graduated from, Bowdin College in Salem. …

…May 19, 1864, at the age of 60, in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Hawthorne was buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery at Concord. During his college days, Hawthorne made the acquaintance of several people who attained their fame through American literature and politics. The list of pallbearers for his funeral reads like the "who's-who" in American Literature; they included Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell and Emerson. Former United States President Franklin Pierce accompanied Mrs. Hawthorne and his children to the funeral.