Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was a great American novelist. He wrote short stories and novels including "The Scarlet Letter", "The House of Seven Gables" and the "Twice Told Tales". His works are seen as a some of the most important works of early American history.

After graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, he changed the spelling of his name from Hathorne to Hawthorne in order to distance himself from his grandfather who involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Then he spent some time working in a customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. He met Sophia Peabody in 1838 and fell in love. He moved into a Transcendentalist Utopian community, not because he actually agreed with their teachings, but to save money to marry Sophia.

He later used material from his life there for his book, "The Blithedale Romance". He and Sophia were married in 1842. They enjoyed a long and happy life together. During his life he was friends with a lot of notable literary figures of his time including, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet Ellery Channing, Herman Melville (who dedicated "Moby Dick" to him), and Henry David Thoreau.

He was also a staunch supporter of President Franklin Pierce, from their early years together. Hawthorne wrote a sterling biography of his friend, Pierce, leaving out anything unsavory. He also met Abraham Lincoln.

At his death in 1864 he left behind his loving wife, Sophia, and their three children. His pallbearers were noted men of the age including Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts on what is known as "Author's Ridge".