John Ernest Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902 of German and Irish ancestry. His father, John Steinbeck, Sr, served as the Country Treasurer whiles his mother, Olive, a former school teacher, fostered Steinbeck's love of reading and the written word. During summers he worked as a hired hand near ranches.
After graduating from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck attended Stanford University.
During this time he worked periodically at various jobs and left Stanford permanently in 1925 to pursue his writing career in New York. …
