John+Steinbeck-His+Life+and+Times

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FACTS ABOUT JOHN STEINBECK

Born: February 27,1902; 132 Central Avenue, Salinas, CA (what is now the reception room of the Steinbeck House) Graduated from Salinas High School--June 1919 Attended Stanford University--1919-1925 Died in New York, December 20,1968


 * *Father: John Ernst Steinbeck,1863-1935, County Treasurer

Mother: Olive Hamilton Steinbeck,1867-1934, Teacher

Sisters: Elizabeth Steinbeck Ainsworth, May 25,1894 - Oct. 20, 1992 lived in Pacific Grove, CA Esther Steinbeck Rodgers, April 14,1892 - May 9,1986; lived in Watsonville, CA Mary Steinbeck Dekker, Jan 9,1905 - January 23,1965; buried in family plot

Wives: Carol Henning Steinbeck Brown, married 1930 and divorced 1942; lived in Carmel Valley, CA, died February 8, 1983, Monterey, CA Gwyndolyn Conger Steinbeck, married 1943 and divorced 1948 died on December 30,1975, Colorado Elaine Anderson Scott Steinbeck, married 1950, died April 27, 2003 in New York.

Sons:Thomas Steinbeck, August 2,1944 John Steinbeck IV, June 12, 1946 - February 7,1991 (mother of Thomas and John IV is Gwyndolyn)** ======

AWARDS & HONORS

1938 - New York Drama Critics' Circle Award (Of Mice & Men) 1940 - Pulitzer Prize Fiction Award (The Grapes of Wrath) 1962 - Nobel Prize for Literature 1983 - Steinbeck Center Foundation started in Salinas, CA

STEINBECK & SALINAS

1902: Born February 27 in the Salinas family home, 132 Central Avenue. Steinbeck wrote his first stories there. As an adult, he visited his parents and wrote section of various works including “The Red Pony” and “Tortilla Flat.”

1919: Graduated from Salinas High School, then located on West Alisal Street across from the post office. Began attending Stanford University.

1925: Went to New York City, working odd jobs, including manual labor for construction of Madison Square Garden. Could not find a publisher. He returned to California the next year.

1929: “Cup of Gold” became his first published novel.

1934: His mother died in the Salinas home. Steinbeck had stayed in the home to take care of her

1935: His father died. This was the first year Steinbeck had commercial success. “Tortilla Flat” was an instant hit.

1936: “Of Mice and Men,” was produced as a novel and then as a play;

1937: “The Long Valley” - a collection of short stories set in the Salinas Valley.

1938: “The Grapes of Wrath.”

1940: Film version of “The Grapes of Wrath.” Steinbeck also received the Pulitzer Prize for the novel.

1943: Married Gwyndolyn Conger; divorced in 1948

1945: “Cannery Row,”

1949: Met Elaine Scott at the Pine Inn at Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde in Carmel. They married the next year.

1952: “East of Eden,” his major work about the history of the Salinas Valley, was published.

1960: Traveled through America with his poodle to write “Travels with Charley.”

1968: Died December 20 in New York.

1969: On March 4, his ashes were buried in the Garden of Memories cemetery.

STUDY GUIDE-The Life and Times of John Steinbeck

1.)	John Steinbeck was born in ___________, California on ___________   ______,  __________.

2.)	What was John Steinbeck’s mother’s name?

3.)	Graduated from ___________ High School in ______.

4.)	What college did he attend?

5.)	What was John Steinbeck’s first novel?

6.)	What novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939?

7.)	In what year was he awarded the Nobel Prize?

8.)	Who was Steinbeck’s first wife and when did they get divorced?

9.)	What was John Steinbeck’s son’s name?

10.)	 When did he die?