Background
Ethnicity:
He was of German American and Irish American descent.
John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California, United States; the son of John Ernst Steinbeck, Sr., the Monterey County Treasurer and Olive (Hamilton) Steinbeck. John's mother, Olive, a former school teacher, fostered Steinbeck's love for reading and writing.