American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, while on a trip with former president Franklin Pierce to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1816, Hawthorne’s family moved to Maine. He greatly enjoyed his time there, saying they were “delightful days, for that part of the country was wild then, with only scattered clearings.” In his teens, Hawthorne produced a handwritten newspaper called The Spectator for his family, which featured his own essays, poems, and news stories. In 1821, Hawthorne’s uncle insisted he go to college, though Hawthorne didn’t want to. On his way to Bowdoin College, Hawthorne met future president Franklin Pierce, and the two began a life-long friendship. Hawthorne was an unenthusiastic student but graduated in 1825. By 1836, Hawthorne was working as the editor for the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. Some of his short stories were printed in magazines and annuals, but none earned him major recognition. Then in 1837, a friend offered to pay to have his works collected into a volume titled Twice-Told Tales, which earned him some local attention.