Born John Griffiths London in San Francisco on January 12, 1876 of an unmarried mother, Flora Wellman. His father may have been William Chaney, a journalist, lawyer, and major figure in the development of American astrology. [John Griffiths London by Dr. Clarice Stasz]
By the time he was 29, he was internationally famous for Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea Wolf (1904), and other literary and journalistic accomplishments. He was divorced from Bessie (Maddern), his first wife and the mother of his two daughters, Joan and Little Bess, and he had married Charmian (Kittredge). Died November 22, 1916, of kidney disease at age 40.
"It was at Union Square that I saw a man offering a thousand dollars for a team of horses." --THE STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS By Jack London, Collier's special Correspondent
"...His noted journalism included war correspondence, boxing stories, and the life of Molokai lepers. A committed socialist, he insisted against editorial pressures to write political essays and insert social criticism in his fiction." --The Jack London Collection
Jack London ascribed his literary success largely to hard work - to "dig," as he put it. He tried never to miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, and between 1900 and 1916 he completed over fifty books, including both fiction and non-fiction, hundreds of short stories, and numerous articles on a wide range of topics. --Jack London - his life and books
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