Dhan Gopal Mukerji was an author of children's books. Born in a small village in India on July 6, 1890, he was passionate about bringing understanding of the Indian people and culture to American readers through his own unique brand of expressive and poetic language.

In 1936, the driven yet unhappy Dhan Gopal Mukerji took his own life, in New York City. He was forty-six years of age.

Dhan Gopal Mukerji's most enduring contribution to literature is "Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon". Written in 1927, the American Library Association awarded this book the 1928 John Newbery Medal.