A. Hassan (1887-1958) was born at Singapore, where his father was a reporter, writer, and publisher of Tamil books and newspapers. Hassan attended Malay and English schools in Singapore, although he never completed formal elementary schooling or formal higher education. He did, however, take to the study of languages and gained facility in Malay, Arabic, and English, as well as his native Tamil. From his father, Hassan also learned the trade of letters, apprenticing himself informally in the printing and publishing business and writing for various newspapers and magazines