Do you know this person?

1. He is American
2. He was born in San Francisco
3. He was born on the 12th of January
4. He was born 140 years ago.
5. He died 100 years ago.
6. His surname sounds like the name of the British capital.
7. Only in the countries of the former USSR more than 77 million copies of his works were published. 
8. He was a sailor and a gold miner.
9. H hunted sea creatures.
9. He acted in one film, which was based on his book.
  I hope you've guessed! Here comes Jack London!
And today is the anniversary of his birthday. Isn't it a good reason to get acquainted with his bigraphy? 
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