Famous American author who was born on the fourth of July in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His most famous work is The Scarlet Letter, but The House of the Seven Gables is the one I read in high school. As a teenager, I found his style rather laborious to read, but I plan to re-read his work now that I have more appreciation for his moral and psychological perspectives. Generally, Hawthorne's works focused on New England.