Rudyard Kipling was born on December 30, 1865 in Bombay, India (British Empire). When Rudyard was a young boy, he and his sister, Alice, had an Indian nurse who told them great stories about the jungle animals. These stories stayed with Rudyard throughout his life. When he was about six years old his parents sent him and his sister to England to be educated. The two children were sent to live in the home of a retired naval officer at Southsea where they were very unhappy. Rudyard was often punished by being forbidden to read. He almost ruined his eyes by reading every book he could get his hands on. Later on, Kipling tells of the horrible six years he and his sister spent in the "house of desolation". The story is called "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".
In 1877 Kipling's mother came from India to spend the summer in Devonshire with her children.
Rudyard Kipling's signature
Landon, second from the right, in hat.
Rudyard Kipling in his study, about this yearThen in 1878, Kipling's father came home on leave and took him to a Paris Exhibition. This was the beginning of his love for France. After the holiday was over Kipling was sent to the United Service College at Westward Ho in Devonshire to be educated in the army. He was constantly reading things like French literature, the English Bible, English poets, and storytellers like Defoe. This is where he developed faith in England and the English people.
When Kipling was seventeen he went back to India and became a reporter at a daily newspaper called the Punjab, the Civil and Military Gazette. In order to get material for the newspaper Kipling traveled around the country for seven years and got to know it very well.
After establishing a firm reputation, Kipling married an American woman named, Caroline Balestier. The husband and wife began a...