Robert Service was born on January 26, 1874 in St. Vincent's Island, Newfoundland, Canada. He was educated at the St. Bonaventure's College, St
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John's (Nfld.) and St. Johns (Ont.) Universities, winning the Chancellor's Medal for Philosophy in 1896. He later studied law at the King's College of London University, graduating with first class honors in 1901.
He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1902 and practiced law until 1907, when he resigned his practice to become managing editor of the Canadian Encyclopedia. His first book, "The Cremation of Sam McGee", appeared shortly thereafter and was followed by a series of historical works, which included a history of Newfoundland and a study of colonial New Brunswick from 1604 to 1783. In 1949 he produced a biography of Sir John A.
Macdonald entitled “The Man Who Made Us Ten” which became a bestseller in Canada and sold over one million copies in the United States alone. In 1951 he completed his autobiography, "The Irrepressible Robert Service". This book went into ten editions and was translated into twenty-six languages.
In 1975 he published “The Wilderness Ocean” which became a bestseller in Canada and sold nearly two million copies worldwide. In 1976 he published “Stories I Tell Myself” a collection of 82 short stories written between 1899 and 1954 which were well received by critics and readers alike as well as receiving the Governor General’s Award for literature. In 1995 he published another memoir entitled “Hurry Down Sunshine” which reflects on his life as an author as well as his personal relationships with his wife Mary McBride Service and family members.
