Jack London

White Fang Jack London

John Griffith London; the American novelist, journalist, and social activist was born on January 12, 1876 with the name John Griffith Chaney. He was born in San Francisco, California to Flora Wellman, possibly an unwed mother. It is the strong belief of some biographers including Clarice Stasz that London's father was astrologer William Chaney. The records that could provide evidence of this such as London's birth certificate were destroyed by the extensive fires that followed the 1906 earthquake. It is recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle of June 4, 1875 that Chaney had demanded that she have an abortion. She, however, refused to have an abortion and Chaney denied responsibility for the child. As soon as London was born, Flora turned the baby over for care to Virginia Prentiss. Prentiss was an African-American woman and former slave who, throughout London's life, was a major maternal figure to him. Flora Wellman married John London, a partially disabled Civil War veteran, late in 1876. She took back her baby John (who would later be known as Jack) to live with her and John London. The family of three settled in Oakland, where London completed public grade school. London searched for, and read, the newspaper accounts of his mother's suicide attempt. He also discovered the name of his supposed biological father in 1897. At this time, he was a student at University of California, Berkeley. He then wrote to Chaney who was living in Chicago and Chaney wrote back saying he was impotent and therefore could not have been London's father. Chaney then asserted that London's mother had relations with other men and she lied about him demanding an abortion. This letter devastated London who quit school at and went to the Klondike during the gold rush boom.