Jack London

Jack London in 1900

Jack London was born in San Francisco, on the 12th of January, 1876 (the actual house was burned down in the San Francisco Earthquake, but a plaque placed in the site commemorates his birthplace). London's father is officially unknown, however, many believe him to be William Chaney, who lived with Jack's mother at the time of her pregnancy. It is also unknown whether they were married, for the records were burned in the earthquake. When William's demand of an abortion was rejected by Flora (Jack's mother), he left her and the unborn baby. Flora attempted suicide by gunshot, but failed and gave birth anyway. She handed the baby to black ex-slave Virginia Prentiss, who bacame an import mother figure in London's life. Flora then married John London, a Civil War veteran, and she toke back Jack to live with them. The family lived around San Francisco Bay for awhile, but they moved to Oakland.
London was mostly self educated. At age ten, he entered into Oakland Public Library, and with the help of the kind librarian, he educated himself with the books.

London age 9

At age fourteen, he was working 12 to 18 hours a day at Hickmott's Cannery (canned food factory). He was unhappy with this job and bought a small boat (a sloop) from an oyster poacher, and he became a poacher himself. In 1893, at age 17, he signed onto a sealing schooner, which was bound for the waters around Japan. When he returned, the country was in the middle of a depression, and unemployment was common in Oakland. After several failed jobs, he started his tramp life. He travelled around North America, and even spent 30 days in prison in Buffalo on charges of vagrancy. After being an experienced sailor and hobo, he decided to go back to Oakland and attend high school. He desperately wanted to attended college, so he studied hard for an entire summer to pass the certification exams. However, due to financial implications, he was forced to drop out after the first year, and he never graduated.
He sailed to the Klondike Gold Rush, but he was never successful in his quest for gold. He only managed to get scurvy, and a bad health. He decided that his writing would be a good job, and his career started out very well.

Bessie Maddern and London's two children Joan and Becky

In 1900, he married one of his friends, Bessie Maddern. Both of them acknowledged that they did not love one another, but they were Darwinians, and believed they would produce sturdy children. Three years later, London announced he was leaving, and they divorced in 1904. Jack married Charmian Kittredge a year later. The same year, he bought 1,000 acre (4 km²) of land in Sonoma County, California. He desperately wanted the ranch to be successful. He wrote only in order to collect money to expand his beloved ranch. However, his ranch was an economic failure. He also spent $80,000 ($1,930,000 in current value) on a 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) stone mansion which he had decided to call "Wolf House". Two weeks before the Londons moved in, the mansion was destroyed to ruins by fire.

Jack London and his wife Charmian

London was often accused of plagiarism, and he sometimes admitted to using certain books as a basis for his novels. He had two children with his first wife, but his second wife never had any successful pregnancies. London was a severe alcoholic, had debts, and was a philanderer.
On the 22nd of November, 1916, Jack London died on his ranch. Many believed at the time, and even some to this day, that London had committed suicide. His death certificate states he died of kidney failure. He suffered from renal colic, a type of pain often described as "the worst pain [...] ever experienced". Because of this pain, he was taking morphine, and a morphine overdose contributed to his death. Whether this overdose was deliberate or accidental, you decide for yourself. London died at the age of 40.