by Lacey Simmons

Created on: September 05, 2008

John Ernst Steinbeck was born February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and went on to attend Stanford University intermittently until 1925, leaving with out a degree.
After leaving Stanford he traveled to New York and worked various temporary jobs while writing. For awhile he had some trouble getting his work published. Despite his trouble, his first novel "Cup of Gold", based on Henry Morgan's life and death, was published in 1929.

From Steinbeck's initial struggle he went on to produce several works including "The Pastures of Heaven" (12 interconnecting stories about a valley in California), "The Red Pony" (recollects memories of his childhood) and "To God Unknown".
His first critical success came with his novel "Tortilla Flat", which was published in 1935. "Tortilla Flat" won the California Common Wealth Club's gold medal and was later made into a film in 1942. It is still one of his best known works today.
Steinbeck's critically acclaimed novel "Of Mice and Men " was published in 1937 and later made into a film in 1939. The novel followed the story of two displaced migrant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, in the great depression era in California. "Of Mice and Men " has become required reading material in many high schools and is found on the American Library Associations list of "Most Challenged books of the 20th century".

"The Grapes of Wrath" published in 1939 is set during the great depression and focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers. The novel follows their hardships in the agriculture industry. It later went on to receive the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. "The Grapes of Wrath" was made into a film in 1940 and starred Henry Fonda.

In 1943 Steinbeck's personal life took a bit of a turn when he divorced his wife Carol Henning. He quickly remarried; Gwyn Conger and they had two children Thomas and John. He and Gwyn later divorced in 1948. Two years later he married Elaine Scott.
Soon after Steinbeck enlisted to serve in World War II, his experiences were later reflected in his work.
Steinbeck has produced many works many of which were made into films. Some of them included were "The Man is Down" (1942), "Lifeboat" (1944), "A Medal for Benny" (1945), "The Pearl" (1947) and "East of Eden". "East of Eden" was considered his best work. James Dean starred in the film version of "East of Eden".

Before Steinbeck's death he produced two more novels "Travels with Charley" a travelogue of a road trip he had taken, and "The Winter of our Discontent". He was also awarded a Nobel Prize for literature in 1962 and a United States Medal of Freedom by President Johnson in1964.

John Steinbeck passed away December 20, 1968 in New York City. It is said two different ways of how he passed on, heart disease or a heart attack. His autopsy showed complete occlusion of main coronary arteries. He is buried at the Garden of Memories Memorial Park.
After his death he incomplete novel about King Arthur legends, "Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights", was published. Later in December 2007 Steinbeck was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. He leaves quite a legacy behind and for many people his work is used as study ,material for aspiring writers.

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