Jack London (John Griffith Chaney) (1876-1916)

Early Years born on January 12, 1876, in San Francisco, California Jack’s father demanded that she have an abortion and she refused. His mother later shot herself, though it wasn’t fatal. Jack was raised in poverty, largely by an ex-slave nanny. A local librarian encouraged him to read, which had an important impact on his life At age 13, worked 12-18 hour days at a cannery

Teen Years At 14, he “found” a boat and became an oyster pirate Around 16, he signed up to hunt seals around Japan He also tramped around as a hobo and became a sailor He passed several exams to be accepted at the University of California-Berkley, but had to drop out quickly due to lack of funds

Early Manhood On July 12, 1897, he sailed to join the Klondike Gold Rush He became ill with scurvy and returned, though the Klondike is the setting for many of his most famous works He began to write as his “ticket out of poverty” He started by writing short fiction for magazines His first published short story was “A Thousand Deaths”

Works Most popular works: Call of the Wild White Fang A Piece of Steak (short story) To Build a Fire London’s writing is in the Naturalist tradition – attempting to scientifically show life without sentimentality – a struggle for survival in which man often doesn’t survive.

London’s Later Life London was a socialist who worked to improve conditions for poor people through his political causes and his writing. He also lived in a mansion and strived to make money for himself. London was also an alcoholic and a depressive London died on November 22, 1916 from a morphine overdose. It wasn’t clear whether it was accidental or on purpose.