[[Image:{{Infobox person| name = Jack London| image = Jack London.jpg|rightbirth_date = January 12, 1876|200px]]birth_place = San Francisco, California| death_date = November 22, 1916| death_place = Glen Ellen, California| nationality = American| spouse = Elizabeth Bessie Maddern,<br /> Charmian Kittrege| religion = }}'''Jack London''' (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was a famous American writer , journalist and novelist of the early 20th century. He had a traumatic early life, two troubled [[marriage]]s, and a [[death]], possibly due to [[suicide]], shrouded in mystery. After engaging in "oyster pirating," becoming a tramp, and getting a grueling, low-paying job, he went to the [[University of California at Berkeley]] in 1896, only to stay a year and fail to graduate. He joined the Klondike [[Gold Rush]] in 1897, during which he developed Scurvy. However, some of his best known and most successful stories, such as the ''Call of the Wild'' and ''White Fang'', were based on his Gold Rush experiences.
==Biography==Born John Griffith Chaney, he had a traumatic early life, and two troubled [[marriage]]s. His [[death]], possibly due to [[suicide]], is shrouded in mystery. After engaging in "oyster pirating," becoming a tramp, and getting a grueling, low-paying job, he went to the [[University of California at Berkeley]] in 1896, only to stay a year and fail to graduate. He joined the Klondike [[Gold Rush]] in 1897, during which he developed Scurvy. However, some of his best known and most successful stories, such as the ''[[Call of the Wild]]'' and ''White Fang'', were based on his Gold Rush experiences. London became a [[socialist]], and his ''political'' leanings are revealed in some of his writing, especially the less-known ''[[The Iron Heel]]'', an early pro-socialist [[dystopian]] [[novel]]. In 1905, he was among the founding members of the [[Intercollegiate Socialist Society]].
The cause of his death is unknown. In the past it was usually claimed to be suicide. However, there is no real proof of this, and it is based heavily on events in his [[fiction]]. In the present day, his death is usually credited to uremia, a type of blood-poisoning related to renal (kidney) failure.<ref>http://www.jacklondons.net/nosuicide.html</ref>
Among his best-known works are ==Works==* A Daughter of the novels ''Snows (1902)* To Build a Fire (1902)* [[The Call of the Wild'', '']] (1903)* The People of the Abyss (1903)* The Kempton-Wace Letters (1903)* How I Became a Socialist (1903)* The Sea-Wolf (1904)* The War of the Classes (1905)* White Fang'', ''Martin Eden'', and ''(1906)* Before Adam (1907)* [[The Iron Heel''. Also well known is his autobiographical work '']] (1908)* Martin Eden (1909)* Lost Face (1910)* Adventure (1911)* South Sea Tales (1911)* The Scarlet Plague (1912)* John Barleycorn''.(1913)* The Valley of the Moon (1913)== External links ==* The Mutiny of the Elsinore (1914)* The Star Rover (1915)*[http://wwwThe Little Lady of the Big House (1916)* Jerry of the Islands (1917)* The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/l#a120 Jack London](1963, incomplete)
==References==
<references{{reflist|1}} ==External links==* [https:/>/books.google.com/books?id=t5k_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA3 Jack London: A Sketch of His Life and Work]* [https://books.google.com/books?id=fI82AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25 The Book of Jack London, Volume 1], by his second wife Charmian Kittridge London'* [https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/l#a120 Jack London]* [https://librivox.org/author/143 Works by Jack London - text and free audio] - [[LibriVox]]
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[[Category:American Authors]][[Category:Socialism]]