Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) Biography Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804, on the 4th of July in Salem, Mass. His grandfather was a judge in the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel's surname, when born, was spelled, "Hathorne". After he graduated from college he added the "w" in order to make the spelling conform to the way it was pronounced. Hawthorne hated school, and barely advanced through his studies. Nathaniel entered, and subsequently graduated from, Bowdin College in Salem. Hawthorne was not an outstanding student, and graduated only in the middle of his class in 1825. Nathaniel had many famous classmates, including, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the (future US Presid