John Steinbeck's Biography

John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California to German and Irish parents. His father, John Steinbeck Sr., worked as the County Treasurer in Salinas and his mother, Olive Hamilton-Steinbeck, a former teacher, helped to introduce young John to the art of reading and writing.


During his youth, John attended Salinas High School, graduating in 1919. He worked diligently as a hired hand on nearby ranches and took other manual labor jobs to help support his family during the summer months, descriptions of which he would later recall and describe impressively in his manuscripts.



John was accepted to Stanford University after high school and enrolled with the hope of obtaining an English degree. Working through an independent study program, John's attendance became sporadic as he grew more and more disinterested. He left Stanford in 1925 for New York and his dream of becoming a published author. Over the next two years, John's time in New York would p...