John Lang

John Lang Biography

John Lang was an Australian lawyer and writer, known for his works in India. He was Australia's first native born novelist, and lived during the period, 19 December 1816 – 20 August 1864. He spent his last years in a hill station of Mussoorie, India, and is buried in Camel's Back Cemetery. He was a journalist by profession, who later turned a writer, and some of his major works include - The Wetherbys and Too Clever by Half, Too Much Alike, The Forger's Wife, Captain Macdonald, Will He Marry Her, The Ex-Wife, My Friend's Wife, The Secret Police, Botany Bay and True Stories of the Early Days of Australia and all these works were published in the 1850s, a few years before his death in 1864.

Lang was born at Parramatta, Sydney, Australia on 19 December 1816. His father Walter Lang was a merchant adventurer who died before John’s birth. His mother’s name is Elizabeth. Lang completed his law studies from Cambridge in 1837 and returned to his home country. He moved to India after 1842 and worked as a barrister, taking high-profile clients such as the Rani of Jhansi in her battles against the British East India Company.

In 1845 he started his career as a journalist and established a newspaper, the Mofussilite, at Meerut. Since then he has been regular in his writings and published his works in his newspaper. He started publishing books since 1853 and published a series of books throughout 1850s. Botany Bay published in 1859 is his acclaimed work, which has been republished several times later. Lang visited London in 1859, and later visited Kolkata too. He died on 20 August 1864, and his lost grave was later found by writer Ruskin Bond almost one century later.

Published: October 30, 2018

Updated: October 30, 2018