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Rudyard Kipling Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 14, 2026 • 4 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth30 December 1865

AgeDied at 70

BirthplaceBombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, India)

ProfessionEnglish Journalist, Short-Story Writer, Poet, Novelist

NationalityBritish

Marital statusMarried

SpouseCaroline Starr Balestier

FamilyChildren: Josephine Kipling, John Kipling (son, killed in WWI), Elsie Bambridge

Rudyard Kipling Biography

Rudyard Kipling was a British writer born in Bombay in 1865 whose fiction, poetry and children’s stories — most notably The Jungle Book — made him one of a

Early life and background

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay in the Bombay Presidency of British India (today Mumbai). He was the son of Alice and John Lockwood Kipling; his father worked as a sculptor and pottery designer and served as Principal and Professor of Architectural Sculpture at the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art in Bombay. Kipling was named after Rudyard Lake, a place his parents admired.

As a young child he and his younger sister Catherine “Trix” were sent to England, where they lived in Southsea from 1871 until 1877 in the care of a boarding household. Kipling later recalled that period as traumatic. In 1877 his mother returned from India and brought the children home. In January 1878 he enrolled at the United Services College in Westward Ho, North Devon, a school that prepared boys for military careers and later provided the setting for his school stories Stalky & Co.

Early career and move to India

Kipling left England for India as a teenager and arrived in Bombay in October 1882. Unable to pursue an Oxford education, he took a job in Lahore as assistant editor of The Civil and Military Gazette. He later transferred to The Pioneer in Allahabad, serving as assistant editor there. His early years in the subcontinent were productive: he published his first collection of verse, Departmental Ditties, in 1886, and in 1888 — a month after turning 22 — his first prose collection, Plain Tales from the Hills, appeared in Calcutta. That year he also published several other short-story collections.

London, marriage and Vermont

A dispute at The Pioneer led to his discharge in early 1889 and he moved to London later that year. In 1891 a collection titled Life’s Handicap was published in London. On 18 January 1892 Kipling married Caroline Starr Balestier (known as Carrie) in London. The couple travelled to the United States for their honeymoon and settled for a time in Vermont, where they rented a cottage called Bliss Cottage and later built a house they named Naulakha, inspired by a pavilion in Lahore Fort.

While living in Vermont Kipling developed the stories of Mowgli and other animal characters that grew into The Jungle Book volumes. The family left the United States in 1896 and returned to England following a family dispute.

Later life and recognition

Kipling continued to travel and work. He visited South Africa on multiple occasions and served as a correspondent for The Friend newspaper in Bloemfontein around 1900. He purchased Bateman’s in Rottingdean and lived there from 1902 until his death in 1936. In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

World War I and personal loss

During the First World War Kipling accepted government requests to produce propaganda material; his wartime pamphlets reached a wide audience. The war also brought personal tragedy: his son John was killed at the Battle of Loos in September 1915.

Final years and legacy

On the night of 12 January 1936 Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine and died on 18 January 1936 in London at the age of 70. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium; his ashes were placed near the graves of Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy.

Kipling’s children’s stories, especially The Jungle Book, have had a long life beyond the printed page. His Jungle Book tales were adapted for film several times, beginning with a 1942 feature and including notable versions released in 1967, 1994 and 2016. His name has been commemorated in scientific and geographic honors as well: a crater on Mercury was named for him by the International Astronomical Union in 2010, and in 2012 an extinct crocodile species was given the name Goniopholis kiplingi. Additional unpublished poems of his were discovered and published in 2013.

Public profile

Kipling’s reputation has been complex and, in some places, controversial. Contemporary assessments note his prominence as a poet, novelist and short-story writer and recognize both his literary achievements and the debates around his political views. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine on 27 September 1926, reflecting his international stature during his lifetime.

Latest updates

Posthumous recognition for Kipling’s work and influence has continued into the 21st century. Film adaptations of the Jungle Book stories have kept his creations in the public eye, and scholarly work has continued to uncover previously unpublished material. In 2018 a new film titled Mowgli, based on the Jungle Book stories, was announced, demonstrating ongoing interest in his work.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Rudyard Kipling, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

The Jungle Book adaptations

Multiple film adaptations of Kipling's Jungle Book stories, with notable films released in 1942, 1967, 1994 and 2016; a film titled Mowgli was announced in 2018.

1942–2018
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Career Highlights

  1. Assistant editor at The Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore
  2. Assistant editor at The Pioneer in Allahabad
  3. Published Departmental Ditties (1886) and Plain Tales from the Hills (1888)
  4. Author of The Jungle Books
  5. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1907)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Rudyard Kipling born?

Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865.

What is Rudyard Kipling known for?

Rudyard Kipling is known for english Journalist, Short-Story Writer, Poet, Novelist.

What is Rudyard Kipling’s marital status?

Rudyard Kipling's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Rudyard Kipling married to?

Rudyard Kipling is publicly listed as married to Caroline Starr Balestier.