Famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, dies in his sleep while touring New Hampshire's White Mountains

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of a sea captain.  He was educated at Bowdoin College, where he met his lifelong friend Franklin Pierce, and became one of the most famous living American authors.  He had served as U.S. Consul at Liverpool when Pierce was president.  In poor health, probably complicated by pneumonia, he died in Plymouth, New Hampshire while on a recuperative trip.  He was buried four days later at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, in Concord, Massachusetts. He was fifty-nine years old.  (By John Osborne)