Nathaniel Hawthorne was born to two very loving parents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hawthorne on Independence Day July 4, 1804. Nathaniel and his father shared the same name. Nathaniel father was a sea captain. When Nathaniel was four years old his father died at sea leavening him and his widowed mother. His maternal relatives recognized the literary talent that Nathaniel posed and help finance his education at Bowdoin Col