John Richard Hersey was born in Tientsin, China, on June 17, 1914, to American missionaries Roscoe M. and Grace (Baird) Hersey. Growing up in China, Hersey was out of the mainstream when it came to American attitudes and culture. He spoke Chinese fluently. Hersey exercised his imagination with reading and writing. He attended the British Grammar School and the American School. Later in life, he reported that his memories of growing up in China included a pretty "normal" childhood.
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