Editing Jack L. Chalker (section)

==Career and family life==
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2021}}
Chalker was born and raised in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]]. Some of his books said that he was born in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]] although he later claimed that was a mistake; he attended high school at the [[Baltimore City College]]. Chalker earned a BA degree in English from [[Towson University]] in [[Towson, Maryland]], where he was a theater critic for the school newspaper, ''[[The Towerlight]]''. During 2003, Towson University named Chalker their Liberal Arts Alumnus of the Year. He received a [[Master of Arts in Liberal Studies]] from [[Johns Hopkins University]] in Baltimore.

Chalker intended to become a lawyer, but financial problems caused him to become a teacher instead. He taught history and geography in the [[Baltimore City Public Schools]] from 1966 to 1978, most notably at [[Baltimore City College]] and the now defunct [[Southwestern Senior High School (Maryland)|Southwestern Senior High School]]. Chalker lectured on [[science fiction]] and technology at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[National Institutes of Health]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], and numerous universities.

Chalker was a member of the [[Maryland Air National Guard]]'s 135th Special Operations Group, where he was a member of the group information office. He was deployed into Baltimore during the [[Baltimore riot of 1968]].<ref>Chalker, Jack L. "Viva Mark?" Sunday American, Dec. 21, 1969</ref>

Chalker was married in 1978 and had two children, David, a game designer, and Samantha, a computer security consultant.

Chalker's hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He also had a great interest in [[Ferry|ferryboats]]; at his fiancée's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull boat, part of the [[Millersburg Ferry]], in the middle of the [[Susquehanna River]] in [[Pennsylvania]].
<!--[[Image:JackChalkerauctioning.jpg|thumb|left|Jack Chalker auctioneering when he was younger. {{Deletable image-caption|Saturday, 4 September 2010|date=May 2012}}]]-->