John Griffith "Jack" London (January 12, 1876 - November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and fortune from his fiction. He is best remembered as the author of Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush. London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. London was vulnerable to accusations of plagiarism not only because he was such a conspicuous, prolific, and successful writer, but also because of his methods of working. He purchased plots and novels from the young Sinclair Lewis and used incidents from newspaper clippings as writing material. London died in 1916 at the age 0f 40. He was in extreme pain and taking morphine, and it is possible that a morphine overdose, accidental or deliberate, may have contributed to his death. Photographed by Arnold Genthe, dated circa 1906-16.