John Griffith “Jack” London (1876–1916) was a journalist, activist, adventurer, pirate, and author who penned eighteen novels in addition to numerous plays, poems, and works of short fiction. As a young man, London briefly attended UC Berkeley but dropped out to search for gold in the Klondike—an experience that proved rich for two of his most famous novels: The Call of the Wild and White Fang. In addition to his political activism in socialist and workers’ rights causes, London also sought to raise public awareness about animal cruelty. London was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity, as well as a large fortune, from his writing.
