He was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts, to John Thoreau (a pencil maker) and Cynthia Dunbar.  梭罗出生时取名大卫·亨利·梭罗，他出生在马萨诸塞州的康科德镇，父亲是约翰·梭罗（铅笔制造商），母亲叫辛西娅·邓巴。

David Henry was named after a recently deceased paternal uncle, David Thoreau.  大卫·亨利以新近去世的叔叔大卫·梭罗命名。

He did not become "Henry David" until after college, although he never petitioned to make a legal name change.  他直到大学毕业后才使用"亨利·大卫"这个名字，虽然他从未请求合法地改变姓名。

He had two older siblings, Helen and John Junior, and a younger sister, Sophia. 他有一个姐姐海伦和一个哥哥小约翰，还有一个妹妹，索菲娅。

Thorea's birthplace still exists on Virginia Road in Concord and is currently the focus of preservation efforts.  梭罗的出生地仍然保存于康科德的Virginia Road,是目前的重点文物保护遗址。

The house is original, but it now stands about 100 yards away from its first site. 房子还是老房子，但据最初的地点有100码远。

Thoreau studied at Harvard University between 1833 and 1837.  梭罗1833年到1837年间就读哈佛大学。

He lived in Hollis Hall and took courses in rhetoric, classics, philosophy, mathematics, and science.  他住在霍利斯大厅，学习修辞、古典文学、哲学、数学和科学。

A legend proposes that Thoreau refused to pay the five-dollar fee for a Harvard diploma.  据说，梭罗拒绝支付五美元的费用以获得哈佛文凭。

In fact, the master's degree he declined to purchase had no academic merit:  事实上，他拒绝购买的这个硕士学位，没有学术价值：

Harvard College offered it to graduates "who proved their physical worth by being alive three years after graduating,  哈佛大学向那些"毕业三年后还活着回来证明其实际价值的毕业生"颁发此学位，

and their saving, earning, or inheriting quality or condition by having Five Dollars to give the college." His comment was: "Let every sheep keep its own skin." 同时"他们的储蓄、收入、所承袭的财产或是社会地位使之能向学院支付五美元。" 而他对此的评论是"让每个人都能有不同的个性"。

In appearance he was homely, with a nose that he called "my most prominent feature," again in Cape Cod.  在外表上他并无吸引力，他有着一个被其称为"我最突出的特征"的鼻子，在《科德角》中他也这么说。

Of his face, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "is as ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and rustic, though courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior.  有关梭罗的脸，纳撒尼尔·霍桑如此描写道(梭罗）简直其丑无比，鼻子长，嘴巴怪，笨拙且粗俗，然而他彬彬有礼却和这样的外表很好地相互映衬。

But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty." 他的丑陋带着正直与和蔼可亲的风格，比美貌更适合他。"

After college, Thoreau taught school, wrote essays and poems for The Dial, and briefly attempted freelance writing in New York City.  大学毕业后，梭罗在学校教书，为《曰规》撰写散文和诗歌，他还在纽约短暂地尝试了一下做一名自由撰稿人。

The death of his brother in 1842 was a profound emotional shock and may have influenced his decision to live with his parents and never to marry. 1842年他兄弟的死对他打击很大，可能同时也影响了他的决定，使其和父母一起生活而且终生未娶。