Historical Figure
John Steinbeck
1902–1968
American writer (1902–1968)
Talk to John Steinbeck
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
John Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters".
In Their Own Words (5)
He was very rich, he bought eggs to throw at a Chinaman. And one of those eggs missed the Chinaman and hit a policeman. So, Danny was in jail.
Ch. 15 , 1935
You watch your place, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy, it ain't even funny.
Curley's wife in Ch. 4, p. 80 , 1937
Out of a thousand centuries they drew the ancient admiration of the footman for the horseman. They knew instinctively that a man on a horse is spiritually as well as physically bigger than a man on foot.
The Red Pony (1933–1937), Ch. 1: The Gift , 1933
This is the story of Danny and of Danny’s friends and of Danny’s house.
Preface , 1935
Ain't many guys travel around together. I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.
Ch. 2, p. 35 , 1937
Timeline
The story of John Steinbeck, told in moments.
Publishes Of Mice and Men. It sells well. More importantly, it gets banned. He writes The Grapes of Wrath over five months in 1938, working obsessively. He regrets it immediately after submitting it. Thinks it's too raw.
The Grapes of Wrath hits bookstores. Oklahoma bans it. California's farmers burn it. Congress investigates the conditions it describes. Eleanor Roosevelt visits migrant camps and confirms them. It sells 430,000 copies in the first year.
Wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath. The Associated Farmers of California call it 'communist propaganda.' The FBI opens a file on Steinbeck. It'll grow for 30 years.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He thinks he doesn't deserve it. The New York Times agrees. Steinbeck tells his wife: 'I'm not the right man.' He writes only one more novel.
Dies of heart failure in New York at 66. The FBI had kept a file on him for three decades. His ashes are taken back to Salinas. He'd written about that valley his whole life and never really left.
More from the Early 20th Century
Explore what happened on the days that shaped John Steinbeck's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.