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  :: Home \ Biography \ Chronology \ 1902-1932

1902-1932 | 1933-1942 | 1943-1952 | 1953-1963 | 1964-1983 | 1984-2002

A Brief Chronology of Events in John Steinbeck's Life
by Robert Harmon

1902 On February 27, John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California. He was the third of four children and the only son of John Ernst II and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck. He spent his childhood and adolescence in the Salinas Valley, later called "the salad bowl of the nation."

1915-19 Attended Salinas High School.

1919-25 Attended classes at Stanford University, leaving without taking a degree. During these years, Steinbeck dropped out for several months and was employed intermittently as a sales clerk, farm laborer, ranch hand, and factory worker.

 


1925 November, traveled by freighter from Los Angeles to New York City; worked as a construction laborer and, briefly, for the New York American.

1926-28 Lived in Lake Tahoe, California and worked as a caretaker for a summer home.

1929 August, publication of first novel, Cup of Gold, by McBride (New York).

1930 January 14, marries Carol Henning. October, meets Edward F. Ricketts, marine biologist, philosopher, longtime friend.

1932 October, novel, The Pastures of Heaven , published by Brewer, Warren, and Putnam (New York).