John Buchan

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (1875-1940) was a British statesman and writer, today mostly remembered for his fine adventure stories. 
Buchan was educated at the University of Glasgow and Oxford, and began to write and publish stories from his college days. He later qualified as a lawyer and went to South Africa to work there in a government (colonial) job. He later served in many countries as a representative of the British government and was later made Governor-General of Canada. In 1935 the British government honoured him by making him a lord. He died in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1940.
Some of his famous adventure thrillers include "Prester John" (1910), "The Thirty Nine Steps" (1915) and "Greenmantle" (1916). He also wrote some fine historical biographies like "Montrose" (1928) and "Sir Walter Scott" (1932).