Jack London facts for kids

Jack London
Jack London
	London in 1903
Born	John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876; San Francisco, California; United States
Died	November 22, 1916 (aged 40); Glen Ellen, California; United States
Occupation	Novelist, journalist, short story writer and essayist
Literary movement	Realism and Naturalism
Signature

John Griffith "Jack" London (born John Griffith Chaney; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist. A pioneer in the world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.

Some of his most famous works include The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote about the South Pacific in stories such as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf.

London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics, such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.

Death

Grave of Jack and Charmian London

London died November 22, 1916, in a sleeping porch in a cottage on his ranch. London had been a robust man but had suffered several serious illnesses. London's ashes were buried on his property not far from the Wolf House. London's funeral took place on November 26, 1916, attended only by close friends, relatives, and workers of the property.

In accordance with his wishes, he was cremated and buried next to some pioneer children, under a rock that belonged to the Wolf House. The grave is marked by a mossy boulder. The buildings and property were later preserved as Jack London State Historic Park, in Glen Ellen, California.

Images for kids

Flora Wellman
London at the age of nine with his dog Rollo, 1885
Jack London studying at Heinold's First and Last Chance in 1886
Heinold's First and Last Chance, "Jack London's Rendezvous"
Miners and prospectors ascend the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush
George Sterling, Mary Austin, Jack London, and Jimmie Hooper on the beach at Carmel, California
Jack with daughters Becky (left) and Joan (right)
Bessie Maddern London and daughters, Joan and Becky
London (right) at the Bohemian Grove with his friends Porter Garnett and George Sterling; a painting parodies his story The White Silence
Jack and Charmian London (c. 1915) at Waikiki
The Snark in Australia, 1921
Portrait photograph of Jack London, taken between 1906 and 1916
The old Winery Cottage, where London died (in the left sleeping porch) on November 22, 1916
London in 1914
Jack London in his office
Jeffries (left) vs. Johnson, 1910
Jack London (date unknown)
London writing, 1905
First edition (1902)
Jack London lake