Jack London Jack London's life story is truly one of rags to riches. He was born in San Francisco on January 12, 1876 as John Griffith Chaney. I'd like to take you through his life story and examine some of his significant literary works along the way. The Dictionary of Literary Biography Volume 78 states that "the biographical consensus is that her father was William Henry Chaney, a 'Professor of Astrology' with whom her mother, Flora Wellman, lived as a spiritualist companion and common-law wife in 1875." (DOLB78). However, she goes on to point out that "Chaney had abandoned her in a fit of denial when he learned of her pregnancy" (DOLB 78). In 1876 Flora married John London. John was a Civil War veteran. He was also a widower and while he worked he had to put his two daughters in an orphanage. After their marriage, the Dictionary of Literary Biography Volume 212 says that "Flora's son was renamed John "Jack" Griffith London" (DOLB 212). After she married John, the new family moved to Oakland, California. When this happened, Jack was introduced to the world of books by visiting the Oakland Public Library. He started reading at a young age because he was a lonely child. One of his favorite books was Signa of Ouida. Signa is the story of a great Italian composer who became famous as the illegitimate son of a peasant woman. Perhaps this story inspired Jack in some way as he also rose from a similar status, although he composed literary rather than musical works. His mother had a bad habit of wasting money on get-rich-quick schemes. For this reason, already as a boy Jack was forced to work part-time to contribute to the family's livelihood. He worked in a wide range of jobs. Some were simple and part-time, like being a newspaper delivery boy. After finishing elementary school, however, he went to work in a cannery. He worked up to "eighteen hour days at ten cents an hour filling pickles into jars" (DOLB 78). That experience was traumatic and led him to hate physical work. He turned that trauma into a story called "The Apostate," considered one of his most powerful. In his teens, London borrowed money and bought himself a fishing vessel..