John Lang (writer)
John Lang (19 December 1816 – 20 August 1864) was an Australian lawyer and was Australia's first native born novelist,[1] who studied law in England and returned to Australia in 1837 as barrister,[1] and permanently migrated to India in 1842 where he established successful newspapers and also had a successful career as the writer and barrister with high-profile clients such as the Lakshmibai - the Rani of Jhansi. He died in India and is buried in India at Mussoorie's Camel's Back Cemetery.[2]
Early life and education
Lang was born at Parramatta, Sydney, Australia, second and posthumous son of Walter Lang, merchant adventurer, and his wife Elizabeth, née Harris.[1]
Lang was educated at Sydney College under William Timothy Cape. He went to Cambridge in March 1837 returned to Australia after qualifying as a barrister.[1]
Career
In India
As barrister
A few months later he permanently migrated to India in 1842 and worked as a barrister. He took on high-profile clients such as the Rani of Jhansi in her battles against the British East India Company.
As journalist and writer
Death
Lang died in the hill station of Mussoorie, India, and is buried in Camel's Back Cemetery, which enjoys a wide vista of the Lower Western Himalaya, which Lang loved greatly. His grave had been lost for almost a century until it was sought out and discovered by the writer Ruskin Bond.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 John Earnshaw, 'Lang, John (1816 - 1864)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, MUP, 1974, pp. 58–59. Retrieved 8 Sep 2009
- ↑ Men and memories of Raj lie buried in Mussoorie cemeteries, The Tribune, 28 December 2015.
- ↑ Lang, John (1859). The Secret Police, Or, Plot and Passion. Ward and Lock.
- ↑ Interview with essayist Joe Leonard on Radio National program "The Bookshelf" compered by Kate Evans, 29 March 2020
- 1 2 Bond, Ruskin(2000). The Lamp is Lit, Penguin India.
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Lang, John". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- Rory Medcalf, 'John Lang, our Forgotten Indian Envoy', The Spectator/Australia, 3 April 2010
External links
- Works by John Lang at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about John Lang at the Internet Archive
- Works by John Lang at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- 1816 births
- 1864 deaths
- 19th-century Australian novelists
- Australian male novelists
- 19th-century Australian lawyers
- People from Meerut
- 19th-century Indian male writers
- Australian expatriates in British India
- Colony of New South Wales people
- 19th-century Australian short story writers
- Australian male short story writers
- Australian crime fiction writers
- Writers from Sydney
- Alumni of the University of Cambridge
- 19th-century Australian journalists
- 19th-century Australian male journalists
- Australian publishers (people)
- Australian magazine editors
- Detective fiction writers
- Australian mystery writers
- Australian travel writers
- Australian children's writers