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Study Guide
Nathaniel Hawthorne Timeline
Jul 4, 1804
Nathaniel Hawthorne Born
Nathaniel Hathorne (he adds the "w" later) is born in Salem, Massachusetts. He is the second child of U.S. Navy captain Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Manning Hathorne.
Dec 19, 2019
Father Dies
Nathaniel's youngest sister, Maria Louise, is born in January. In April, his father dies of yellow fever in Suriname. Hawthorne's mentally fragile mother withdraws, leaving his uncle Robert Manning to oversee the boy's education.
Aug 1, 1820
The Spectator
Hawthorne writes and publishes The Spectator, a newsmagazine that he distributes to friends and family. It runs for one month.
Dec 19, 2019
Starts College
Hawthorne enrolls at Bowdoin College. His friends and fellow students there include future U.S. President Franklin Pierce and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Dec 19, 2019
Graduates from College, Withdraws from World
Hawthorne graduates from Bowdoin and moves in with family back in Salem. He begins a decade-long period of intense isolation from the world. He takes his meals alone, rarely sees friends or family, and spends most of his time writing.
Dec 19, 2019
First Novel
Hathorne's first novel, Fanshawe, is published anonymously. The public ignores it.
Dec 19, 2019
The End of Nathaniel Hathorne
In October and November, Hawthorne publishes two short stories under his original name, Nathaniel Hathorne. From then on, he uses the name "Hawthorne" both personally and professionally.
Apr 1, 1841
Brook Farm
Hawthorne quits the Custom House and moves to Brook Farm, a utopian community in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He lives there until November.
Jul 9, 1842
Marriage
After a three year engagement, Hawthorne marries Sophia Peabody, a painter. The couple moves to a rented house in Concord known as the Old Manse.
Mar 3, 1844
Daughter Born
Sophia gives birth to the couple's first child, a daughter named Una.
Jun 2, 1846
Son Born
The couple's second child, a son, is born. He is nameless for the first few months of his life until his parents agree on "Julian." In July, the family moves to Salem, and Hawthorne takes a position at the Salem Custom House. He publishes Mosses From an Old Manse, a short story collection.
Jun 1, 1849
Loses Job
Hawthorne is dismissed from Salem Custom House in a political shakeup. He is furious and declares, "I detest this town so much that I hate to go out into the streets, or to have people see me." He begins work on a novel about adultery and hypocrisy in Salem.
Jul 31, 1849
Mother Dies
Nathaniel Hawthorne's mother, Elizabeth Hathorne, dies. Hawthorne falls into a deep depression. He continues writing The Scarlet Letter.
Mar 1, 1850
The Scarlet Letter
Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter is published. Despite—or perhaps because of—its scandalous themes of adultery, the book is an instant bestseller. An introductory chapter called "The Custom House" takes a swipe at his former employers. Two months after its publication, the Hawthorne family moves to Lenox, Massachusetts.
Dec 19, 2019
Seven Gables and a White Whale
Hawthorne publishes The House of the Seven Gables. Herman Melville publishes Moby Dick, the novel he completed after reading Hawthorne's short story collection Mosses From an Old Manse. He dedicates the book to Hawthorne.
May 1, 1851
Daughter Born
The Hawthorne's third and final child, daughter Rose, is born.
Dec 19, 2019
The Blithedale Romance
Hawthorne publishes the novel The Blithedale Romance, a fictionalized account of the utopian community Brook Farm. He and Sophia purchase Hillside, a home in Concord, Massachusetts previously owned by the Alcott family. The Hawthornes rename it Wayside.
Dec 19, 2019
U.S. Consul
Hawthorne's old college pal Franklin Pierce takes office as President and awards Hawthorne a political appointment as U.S. Consul in Liverpool. The Hawthorne family sails to England.
Dec 19, 2019
Ends Consul Position
Hawthorne loses his position as U.S. Consul after Pierce loses the Democratic nomination for re-election. He chooses to stay on in England.
Dec 19, 2019
Back in the U.S.
Hawthorne sails back to the United States and resettles at The Wayside in Concord.
Dec 19, 1863
Our Old Home
Hawthorne published Our Old Home, a non-fiction account of his time in Europe. It is the last thing that he publishes.
May 19, 1864
Death
Nathaniel Hawthorne dies in Plymouth, New Hampshire while vacationing with friend and former president Franklin Pierce. He is buried on Author's Ridge at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.
Feb 26, 1871
Wife Dies
Sophia Peabody Hawthorne dies in London and is buried there.
Jun 26, 2006
Family Reunited
A century after their deaths, Hawthorne's wife Sophia and eldest daughter Una, both of whom were buried in England, are re-interred with him at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.