John Steinbeck 

(1902 -1968) 

           John Steinbeck was born in a farming town in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. His father John Ernst Steinbeck was once the treasurer of the Monterey County. At Age 14 John Steinbeck decided to be a writer. He started to write books in his upstairs bedroom. Steinbeck decided to make his parents extremely happy so he went to Stanford University. 

           At the university he only signed up for the writing classes. The classes he went to was Classical and British literature and all of the writing classes. In the 1920’s he wrote several drafts of his first novel Cup of Gold (1929) about the pirate Henry Morgan.

            He wrote the Pastures of Heaven (1932), To a God Unknown (1933), The long Valley (1938), Tortilla Flat (1935), In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937),Grapes of Wrath  (1930’s) and many more. In 1943 he divorced his first wife Carol. In that same year he re-married Gwendolyn Conger. With Gwen he had 2 sons. Shortly after his second sons birth, he divorced Gwen in 1948. In 1949 he met and married in 1950 his third wife Elaine Scott-then moved to New York City with her where he lived for the rest of his life.

In 1926- 1928 he lived in lake Tahoe California and worked as a caretaker for a summerhouse. In 1930, January 14, met Edward F, Rickets, a marine biologist, philosopher, and becomes a lifelong friend. In 1944 august 2 his first son Thom was born. And in 1946 June 12 was the birth of his second son John IV. In 1964 September 14 he was presented with the United States Medal of Freedom by president Lyndon B.Johnston. He wrote a book in 1966 about racism, sexist, etc. called America and Americans.  In December 20, 1968, he dies of Arteriosclerosis in New York.

- by Armondo

One of the Books by John Steinbeck

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