Mark and Shania Twain : snopes.com Claim: Shania Twain is the great-granddaughter of Mark Twain. FALSE Example: [Collected via e-mail, December 2012] Is it true that Shania Twain is Mark Twain's great-granddaughter? Origins: Several well-traveled rumors have posited improbable familial relationships between celebrities based on nothing more than vague facial resemblances, spawning such common legends as those claiming that soap actress Susan Lucci is the daughter of comedienne Phyllis Diller or that western actor Clint Eastwood is the son of comic Stan Laurel. In more recent years we've received a number of similar celebrity inquiries seemingly based on nothing more than the fact that two famous people share a surname, such as this question about whether Canadian country pop star Shania Twain is the great-granddaughter (or other direct relative) of 19th century American author and humorist Mark Twain. In this case, however, supposition about one Twain being a descendant of the other immediately falls apart when one realizes that neither person is a direct biological relative of anyone with the surname of Twain.

"Mark Twain" was not a real person but rather the pen name of writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who was born in Missouri in 1835. Although the line between Clemens and his alternate persona may have been a bit blurred at times (for example, Clemens delivered humorous lectures in character as Mark Twain), he nonetheless retained the use of his birth name in personal matters, and all of his children bore the surname Clemens. Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, in 1965, the daughter of Sharon Morrison Edwards and Clarence Edwards. She didn't acquire the last name of Twain until after her parents divorced and her mother married again, to a man named Jerry Twain who adopted Eilleen and her sisters (thus legally changing their surname from Edwards to Twain). She remained Eilleen Twain until 1991, when she changed her first name to Shania and embarked upon a recording career. Aside from the name issue, the country/pop singer couldn't possibly be a great-granddaughter of the renowned writer and humorist, as the latter had no direct descendants beyond a single now-deceased grandchild.

Samuel Clemens and his wife Olivia Langdon Clemens had four children, a son and three daughters: son Langdon died before his second birthday, daughters Susan and Jean passed away before marrying, and daughter Clara married and bore one child, a daughter named Nina Clemens Gabrilowitsch. However, Nina died in 1966 without ever having borne any children of her own, and any direct line of descent from Samuel Langhorne Clemens ended with her death. Any living relatives of "Mark Twain" are either in-laws or descendants of other members of his family, not direct relatives. Last updated: 3 December 2012 Tags: Mark Twain (Author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) edit data Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer.

He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrat Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism.

While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which proved to be very popular and brought him nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling. He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. However, he lacked financial acumen. Though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, however, he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility. Born during a visit by Halley's Comet, he died on its return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".

Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Before Clemens became well known as a writer, he held a variety of odd jobs including piloting a steamboat up and down the Mississippi River. He was licensed as a steamboat pilot in 1859 and worked on the river until fighting there during the Civil War ended traffic traveling from north to south. His experiences along the river helped him come up with his pen name. Do you know how he chose his name? page 1 of 3 Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910) - Genealogy Samuel Langhorne Clemens "Mark Twain", "Mark Twain & Josh" Birthdate: Florida, Monroe County, Missouri, United States Death: in Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States Place of Burial: Elmira, Chemung County, New York, United States Immediate Family: Half brother of Samuel Langhorne Clemens Occupation: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ...

enjoyed by all present. Some of the Principal About His Life. Samuel Langhorn Clemens (Mark Twain) died at 6:30 o'clock Thursday evening... Publication: Lumberton, Robeson, North Carolina, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... my mind's eye now as first school Redding, Conn., April 26.— Samuel' Xianghorne Clemens (Mark Twain) died painlessly at 6:30 o'clock laB... Publication: Scotland, Bon Homme, South Dakota, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... Passed Away In His Home In .Redding, Conn., Last Evening. Mnik Twain Samuel L. Clemens one of the most Interesting characters in America... Publication: Bellows Falls, Windham, Vermont, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... secure an issue of $60,000,000 of 50-year 4% per cent bonds.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, "Mark Twain," printer, soldier, reporter, miner, ... Publication: Hope, Griggs, North Dakota, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... simple as his wholesome life attended the tributes paid today to Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain ... Langhorn Clemens, (Mark Twain), died ... Publication: Hope, Griggs, North Dakota, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... New York would not be in the nature of apublic memorial to Mark Twain ... although the public would be welcome to attend. Mine. .Gabrilo... Publication: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: "...Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) bequeathing the decedent's property to his only surviving daughter, Mrs. Clara Gabrilowitch? has been ...

Publication: El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: ... dead. Known to more people in the world by his pen name of Mark Twain than by his real name Samuel Lang-2iorn Clemens his ... . A 4" sim... Publication: El Paso, El Paso, Texas, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: "...literature." The death of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) has meant to Americans everywhere and in all walks of life what the death of... Publication: Aberdeen, Grays Harbor, Washington, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: "...I; ham The Mulga mine ? ? for two years. SAMUEL L CLEMENS. Great American Humorist Died After Long Illness. Bedding. Conn April ??. ?... Publication: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: "...to Samuel L.

Clemens (Mark Twain), whose body was brought here for burial from his home at Redding, Conn., where he died last Friday.... Publication: Old Town, Bonner, Idaho, USA Date: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, 1836-1922 Text: "..., Conn.. April 22.?Samuel .anghorn Clemens, (Mark' Twatn), led painlessly at 6:30 o'clock last light of angina pectoris. He lapsed nt... Publication: Fairmont, Marion, West Virginia, USA Date: sister About Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pen name Mark Twain, wrote grand tales about Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and the mighty Mississippi River. He became nothing less than a national treasure. During his lifetime, Twain became a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. Upon his death he was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age," and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".

He was born on November 30, 1835, in the tiny village of Florida, Missouri, the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. He spent his boyhood in nearby Hannibal, on the banks of the Mississippi River, observing its busy life, fascinated by its romance, but chilled by the violence and bloodshed it bred. Clemens was eleven years old when his lawyer father died. In order to help the family earn money, the young Clemens began working as a store clerk and a delivery boy. He also began working as an apprentice (working to learn a trade), then a compositor (a person who sets type), with local printers, contributing occasional small pieces to local newspapers. At seventeen his comic sketch "The Dandy Frightening the Squatter" was published by a sportsmen's magazine in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1853 Clemens began wandering as a journeyman printer to St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; settling briefly with his brother, Orion, in Iowa before setting out at twenty-two years old to make his fortune, he hoped, beside the lush banks of the Amazon River in South America.

Instead, traveling down the Mississippi River, he became a steamboat river pilot until the outbreak of the Civil War (1861–65), when Northern forces clashed with those of the South over slavery and secession (the South's desire to leave the Union). In 1865 the Sacramento Union commissioned Mark Twain to report on a new excursion service to Hawaii. His accounts as published in the newspaper provided the basis for his first successful lectures and years later were collected in Letters from the Sandwich Islands (1938) and Letters from Honolulu (1939). His travel accounts were so well received that he was contracted in 1866 to become a traveling correspondent for the Alta California; he would circle the globe, writing letters. In 1870 Twain married Olivia Langdon. After a brief residence in upstate New York as an editor and part owner of the Buffalo Express, he moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he lived for twenty years; there three daughters were born, and prosperity as a writer and lecturer (in England in 1872 and 1873) seemed guaranteed.

Roughing It (1872) recounted Mark Twain's travels to Nevada and reprinted some of the Sandwich Island letters. Meanwhile Mark Twain's account of steamboating experiences for the Atlantic Monthly (1875; expanded to Life on the Mississippi, 1883) captured the beauty, glamor, and danger of the Mississippi River. Boyhood memories of life beside that river were written into The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1875), which immediately attracted young and old Twain's Tom Sawyer, better organized than Huckleberry Finn, is a narrative of innocent boyhood play that accidentally discovers evil as Tom and Huck witness a murder by Injun Joe in a graveyard at midnight. The boys run away, are thought dead, but turn up at their own funeral. Tom and Huck decide to seek out the murderer and the reward offered for his capture. It is Tom and his sweetheart who, while lost in a cave, discover the hiding place of Injun Joe. Though the townspeople unwittingly seal the murderer in the cave, they close the entrance only to keep adventuresome boys like Tom out of future trouble. In the end, it is innocent play and boyish adventuring which really triumph.

Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be Mark Twain's finest creation. Huck lacks Tom's imagination; he is a simple boy with little education. One measure of his character is a proneness to deceit, which seems instinctive, a trait shared by other wild things and relating him to nature—in opposition to Tom's tradition-grounded, book-learned, imaginative deceptions. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a loosely strung series of adventures, can be viewed as the story of a quest for freedom and an escape from what society requires in exchange for success. Joined in flight by a black companion, Jim, who seeks freedom from slavery, Huck discovers that the Mississippi is peaceful (though he is found to be only partially correct) but that the world along its shores is full of trickery, including his own, and by cruelty and murder. When the raft on which he and Jim are floating down the river is invaded by two criminals, Huck first becomes their assistant in swindles but is finally the agent of their exposure. Whatever its faults, Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a classic.

Variously interpreted, it is often thought to suggest more than it reveals, speaking of what man has done to confuse himself about his right relation to nature. It can also be thought of as a treatment of man's failures in dealing with his fellows and of the corruption that man's only escape is in flight, perhaps even from himself. Yet it is also an apparently artless story of adventure and escape so simply and directly told that novelist Ernest Hemingway (c.1899–1961) once said that all American literature begins with this book. After a series of unsuccessful business ventures in Europe, Twain returned to the United States in 1900. His writings grew increasingly bitter, especially after his wife's death in 1905. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1900) exposed corruption in a small, typical American town. Eve's Diary (1906), written partly in memory of his wife, showed a man saved from bungling only through the influence of a good woman. In 1906 Twain began to dictate his autobiography to Albert B. Paine, recording scattered memories without any particular order.

Portions from it were published in periodicals later that year. With the income from the excerpts of his autobiography, he built a large house in Redding, Connecticut, which he named Stormfield. There, after several trips to Bermuda to improve his declining health, he died on April 21, 1910. Twain's legacy lives on today as his namesakes continue to multiply. Several schools are named after him, including Mark Twain Elementary School in Houston, Texas, which has a statue of Twain sitting on a bench, and Mark Twain Intermediate School in New York. There are several schools named Mark Twain Middle School in different states, as well as Samuel Clemens High School in Schertz, near San Antonio, Texas. There are also other structures, such as the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge. Mark Twain Village is a United States Army installation located in the Südstadt district of Heidelberg, Germany. It is one of two American bases in the United States Army Garrison Heidelberg that house American soldiers and their families (the other being Patrick Henry Village). Awards in his name proliferate. In 1998, The John F.

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts created the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, awarded annually. The Mark Twain Award is an award given annually to a book for children in grades four through eight by the Missouri Association of School Librarians. Stetson University in DeLand, Florida sponsors the Mark Twain Young Authors' Workshop each summer in collaboration with the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal. The program is open to young authors in grades five through eight. The museum sponsors the Mark Twain Creative Teaching Award. A plaque honoring Mark Twain on the Sydney Writers Walk in Sydney, Australia Buildings associated with Twain, including some of his many homes, have been preserved as museums. His birthplace is preserved in Florida, Missouri. The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal, Missouri preserves the setting for some of the author's best known work. The home of childhood friend Laura Hawkins, said to be the inspiration for his fictional character Becky Thatcher, is preserved as the "Thatcher House".In May 2007, a painstaking reconstruction of the home of Tom Blankenship, the inspiration for Huckleberry Finn, was opened to the public.

The family home he had built in Hartford, Connecticut, where he and his wife raised their three daughters, is preserved and open to visitors as the Mark Twain House. Actor Hal Holbrook created a one-man show called Mark Twain Tonight, which he has performed regularly for 50 years. The broadcast by CBS in 1967 won him an Emmy Award. Of the three runs on Broadway (1966, 1977, and 2005), the first won him a Tony Award. Additionally, like countless influential individuals, Twain was honored by having an asteroid, 2362 Mark Twain, named after him. Often, Twain is depicted in pop culture as wearing a white suit. While there is evidence that suggests that, after Livy's death in 1904, Twain began wearing white suits on the lecture circuit, modern representations suggesting that he wore them throughout his life are unfounded. There is no evidence of him wearing a white suit before 1904; however, it did eventually become his trademark, as illustrated in anecdotes about this eccentricity (such as the time he wore a white summer suit to a Congressional hearing during the winter).

McMasters' "Mark Twain Encyclopedia" states that Twain did not wear a white suit in his last three years, except at one banquet speech.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (1867) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (fiction) (1868) General Washington's Negro Body-Servant (fiction) (1868) My Late Senatorial Secretaryship (fiction) (1869) The Innocents Abroad (non-fiction travel) (1870–71) Memoranda (monthly column for The Galaxy Magazine (1866)) (1871) Mark Twain's (Burlesque) Autobiography and First Romance (fiction) (1872) Roughing It (non-fiction) (1873) The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (fiction, made into a play) (1875) Sketches New and Old (fictional stories) (1875) Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls (fiction, short story) (1876) Old Times on the Mississippi (non-fiction) (1876) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (fiction) (1876) A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage (fiction); (1945, private edition), (200

1, Atlantic Monthly).

(1877) A True Story and the Recent Carnival of Crime (stories) (1877) The Invalid's Story (fiction) (1878) Punch, Brothers, Punch!

and other Sketches (fiction) (1879) The Great Revolution in Pitcairn (fiction) (1880) A Tramp Abroad (travel) (1880) 1601: Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside, in the Time of the Tudors (fiction) (1882) The Prince and the Pauper (fiction) (1883) Life on the Mississippi (non-fiction (mainly)) (1884) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (fiction) (1889) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (fiction) (1892) The American Claimant (fiction) (1892) Merry Tales (fiction) (1892) Those Extraordinary Twins (fiction) (1893) The £1,000,000 Bank Note and Other New Stories (fictional stories) (1894) Tom Sawyer Abroad (fiction) (1894) The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (fiction) (1896) Tom Sawyer, Detective (fiction) (1896) Personal Recollections of Joan

 of Arc (fiction) (1897) How to Tell a Story and other Essays (non-fictional essays) (1897) Following the Equator (non-fiction travel) (1898) Concerning the Jews (non-fiction)[2] (1898) Is He Dead?

(play) (1900) The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (fiction) (1900) A Salutation Speech From the Nineteenth Century to the Twentieth (essay) (1901) The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated (satire) (1901) Edmund Burke on Croker and Tammany (political satire) (1901) To the Person Sitting in Darkness (essay) (1901) To My Missionary Critics (essay) The North Atlantic Review 172 (April 1901) (1902) A Double Barrelled Detective Story (fiction) (1904) A Dog's Tale (fiction) (1904) Extracts from Adam's Diary (fiction) (1905) King Leopold's Soliloquy (political satire) (1905) The War Prayer (fiction) (1906) The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (fiction) (1906) What Is Man?

(essay) (1906) Eve's Diary (fiction) (1907) A Horse's Tale (fiction) (1909) Is Shakespeare Dead? (non-fiction) (1909) Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven (fiction) (1909) Letters from the Earth (fiction, published posthumously) (1910) Queen Victoria's Jubilee (non-fiction) (1912) My Platonic Sweetheart (dream journal, possibly non-fiction) (1916) The Mysterious Stranger (fiction, possibly not by Twain, published posthumously) (1922) The Writings of Mark Twain, 37 vols., Albert Bigelow Paine editor, Gabriel Wells, New York, 1922–1925, out-of-print definitive edition first edition.

(1923) The United States of Lyncherdom (essay, published posthumously) (1924) Mark Twain's Autobiography (non-fiction, published posthumously) (1935) Mark Twain's Notebook (published posthumously) (1946) The Portable Mark Twain, Bernard DeVoto editor, Penguin Classics (2004), ISBN 0142437759 (1962) Letters from the Earth (posthumous, edited by Bernard DeVoto) (1969) No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger (fiction, published posthumously) (1992) Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. Jim Zwick, ed. (Syracuse University Press) ISBN 0-8156-0268-5 (previously uncollected, published posthumously) (1995) The Bible According to Mark Twain: Writings on Heaven, Eden, and the Flood (published posthumously) (2009) Who is Mark Twain?

(HarperStudio) ISBN 9780061735004 (previously unpublished, published posthumously) (2010) Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1. (University of California Press, November 15, 2010) (ISBN 978-0520267190) (published 100 years after death) Mark Twain in 1900, Colorized Photograph. < > Samuel Langhorne Clemens adopted the pseudonym "Mark Twain" after he spent two years as a steamboat pilot. "mark twain" is a term that means that a river is the minimum depth for safe navigation. After an unsuccessful attempt at gold and silver mining, he joined the staff of a Nevada newspaper where he first used the name "Mark Twain" to sign a humerous travel letter. He would continue to use the name for nearly 50 years and dozens of publications. Mark Twain was the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, b. Florida, Mo., Nov. 30, 1835, d. Apr.

21, 1910, who achieved worldwide fame during his lifetime as an author, lecturer, satirist, and humorist. Since his death his literary stature has further increased, with such writers as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner declaring his works--particularly HUCKLEBERRY FINN--a major influence on 20th-century American fiction. Twain was raised in Hannibal, Mo., on the Mississippi River. His writing career began shortly after the death of his father in 1847. Apprenticed first to a printer, he soon joined his brother Orion's Hannibal Journal, supplying copy and becoming familiar with much of the frontier humor of the time, such as George W. Harris's Sut Lovingood yarns and other works of the so-called Southwestern Humorists. From 1853 to 1857, Twain visited and periodically worked as a printer in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, corresponding with his brother's newspapers under various pseudonyms.

After a visit to New Orleans in 1857, he learned the difficult art of steamboat piloting, an occupation that he followed until the Civil War closed the river, and that furnished the background for "Old Times on the Mississippi" (1875), later included in the expanded Life on the Mississippi (1883). In 1861, Twain traveled by stagecoach to Carson City, Nev., with his brother Orion, who had been appointed territorial secretary. After unsuccessful attempts at silver and gold mining, he returned to writing as a correspondent for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. At first he signed his humorous and imaginative sketches "Josh," but early in 1863 he adopted the now-famous name Mark Twain, borrowed from the Mississippi leadsman's call meaning "two fathoms" deep--safe water for a steamboat. Twain went to San Francisco in 1864. Dubbed the "Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope," he achieved a measure of national fame with his story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (1865).

A trip to Hawaii in 1866 furnished articles for the Sacramento Union and materials for the first lecture, on his return, in a long and successful career as a public speaker. The following year he traveled to the Mediterranean and the Holy Land, providing letters to the San Francisco Alta California that, in their revised form as The Innocents Abroad (1869), won immediate international attention. In 1870, Twain married Olivia Langdon of Elmira, N.Y. After serving briefly as editor and part-owner of the Buffalo Express, he moved to Hartford, Conn., in 1871, abandoning journalism in order to devote his full attention to serious literature. There, and during summers in Elmira, he produced Roughing It (1872), an account of his Western years; The Gilded Age (1873, with Charles Dudley Warner), a satire of get-rich-quick schemes and political chicanery; the new pieces for Sketches, New and Old (1875); and TOM SAWYER (1875), his classic tale of boyhood.

A European sojourn in 1878-79 inspired A Tramp Abroad (1880), soon followed by The Prince and the Pauper (1882), Twain's first historical novel. He later turned to history again in the allegorical satire A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889), a powerful fictional indictment of political and social injustice. Meanwhile, he completed Life on the Mississippi (1883) and, after establishing his own firm, Charles L. Webster and Co., published his masterpiece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, in 1884. Increasingly involved financial problems prompted Twain to move to Europe in 1891, just after finishing The American Claimant (1892). In 1894, following the failure of his publishing company and of the Paige typesetting machine in which he had invested heavily, Twain was forced to declare bankruptcy.

During this period he turned out a number of works, generally inferior to his best: The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894), Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896), and Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896). In 1895, to help recoup his losses, he embarked on a world lecture tour, later described in Following the Equator (1897). Although his financial situation rapidly improved, additional stress and sorrow came with the deaths of Twain's daughter Susy in 1896 and of his wife in 1904. His writings of the late 1890s and 1900s became more pessimistic than ever; "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" (1898) and What Is Man? (1906) are particularly scathing examinations of human nature. Yet, these works also imply that proper understanding of human motivations can result in progress.

Moreover, volumes in the Mark Twain Papers series--Which Was the Dream?, and Other Symbolic Writings of the Later Years (1967), Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts (1969), and Mark Twain's Fables of Man (1972)--suggest that the period was not the wasteland described by some critics. H. G. Baetzhold Bibliography: Anderson, Frederick, and Sanderson, K. M., eds., Mark Twain: The Critical Heritage (1972); Blair, Walter, Mark Twain and Huck Finn (1960; repr. 1973); Bridgman, Richard, Traveling with Mark Twain (1987); Brooks, Van Wyck, Ordeal of Mark Twain, rev. ed. (1933; repr. 1977); Budd, Louis J., ed., Critical Essays on Mark Twain (1983); De Voto, Bernard, Mark Twain's America (1932; repr.

1978); Fatout, Paul, Mark Twain on the Lecture Circuit (1960); Giddings, Robert, ed., Mark Twain (1985); Howells, William Dean, My Mark Twain (1910; repr. 1977); Kaplan, Justin, Mark Twain and His World (1974) and Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain (1966); Lauber, John, The Inventions of Mark Twain (1990); Neider, Charles, ed., The Autobiography of Mark Twain (1975; repr. 1990); Paine, Albert B., Mark Twain: A Biography, 3 vols., (1935); Sanborn, Margaret, Mark Twain: The Bachelor Years (1990); Sanderlin, George, Mark Twain as Others Saw Him (1978); Steinbrink, Jeffrey, Getting to Be Mark Twain (1991).

1850 United States Federal Census about Samuel L Clemens Name: Samuel L Clemens [Mark Twain] [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] [Samuel L Lampton] Age: 14 Birth Year: abt 1836 [30 Nov 1835] Birthplace: Missouri [Florida, Monroe Co., MO USA] Home in 1850: Hannibal, Marion, Missouri Gender: Male Family Number: 709 Household Members: Name Age Jane Clemens 46 Orion Clemens 25 Pamela A Clemens 23 Samuel L Clemens 14 Henry Clemens 12 1860 United States Federal Census about Saml Clemmens Name: Saml Clemmens [Samuel Clemens] [Saml Clemens] [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] Age in 1860: 26 Birth Year: abt 1834 Birthplace: Kentucky Home in 1860: St Louis Ward 6, St Louis (Independent City), Missouri Gender: Male Post Office: St Louis Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age W A Moffat 45 Annie Moffat

 40 Jane Clemmens 60 Saml Clemmens 26 Mary Clemmens 23 U.S.

Passport Applications, 1795-1925 about Sam L Clemen Name: Sam L Clemen [Sam L Clemens] [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] [Mark Twain] Birth Date: 30 Nov 1835 Birth Place: Missouri Age: 31 Passport Issue Date: 21 May 1867 Passport Includes a Photo: No U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 about Samuel L Clemens Name: Samuel L Clemens [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] [Mark Twain] Gender: Male Birth Year: 1835 Spouse Name: Olivia L Langdon Marriage Year: 1870 Number Pages: 1 1870 United States Federal Census about S L Clemmens Name: S L Clemmens [Samuel L.

Clemens] [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] [Mark Twain] Age in 1870: 30 Birth Year: abt 1840 [30 Nov 1835] Birthplace: New York [Florida, Monroe Co., MO USA] Home in 1870: Buffalo Ward 10, Erie, New York Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Buffalo Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age S L Clemmens 30 Olivia Clemmens 24 Patrick Mcfry 26 Margt Brown 23 Ellen White 29 1880 United States Federal Census about Samuell. Clemens Name: Samuell. Clemens [Mark Twain] [Samuel L.

Clemens] [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] Age: 44 Birth Year: abt 1836 [30 Nov 1835] Birthplace: Missouri [Florida, Monroe Co., MO USA] Home in 1880: Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Self (Head) Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Olivia L. Clemens Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Birthplace: Kentucky Neighbors: View others on page Occupation: Author Cannot read/write: Blind: The My Hero Project - Mark Twain "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned." Mark Twain MARK TWAIN by David Ginsburg Samuel Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, the day Halley's Comet, which passes overhead once every seventy-five years, was seen in the sky. Clemens was a very mischievous boy, especially when he was with his friend, Tom Blankenship.

Tom lived in a broken-down farm behind Clemens' house. At night, Tom would give a catcall and Clemens would sneak out to join him. Then they would look for treasure or try to find a cure for warts. During the day they included other friends in their mischief. Once they were rolling boulders down a hill and one just missed a wagon and wagon driver. After that, the boys stopped their mischief. When Clemens was eleven years old his dad died of pneumonia. He stopped going to school and started working as a typesetter to support his family. A typesetter is a person who sets metal letters called type. This is how newspapers were made. After he became a good typesetter, his brother, Orion, came back from St. Louis where he was also a typesetter. Orion bought a newspaper and made Clemens his assistant. When Orion was out of town, Clemens was in charge. one time when Orion was away, Clemens got people to tell him all the gossip. He printed it in the paper. Everyone liked it except for the people he was talking about. Those people came to complain, including one armed with a shotgun! When Orion got back he quickly put an end to Clemens' mischief.

For fun Clemens liked to write funny short stories and send them to a newspaper. They would get published, so he kept writing. At age seventeen, he went to work as a typesetter for newspapers in St. Louis, New York, Philadelphia, and back in St. Louis. Again, he worked with Orion but this time in Iowa where Orion lived. He then worked in Cincinnati for a while. He gained quite an education working on the newspaper. But after ten years of being a printer he wanted to move on. At age 21 in 1857 he boarded a steamboat to South America. As soon as he was on the Mississippi River he forgot about going to South America and wanted to become a steamboat pilot. Clemens went up to the pilot and begged him to teach him how to be a steamboat pilot. Mr. Bixby, the pilot, finally accepted at a cost of $500. Clemens was to pay $100 at the start and $400 after he became a pilot. Bixby taught him everything he knew. Later, he was transferred onto another boat called the Pennsylvania. By then his younger brother, Henry, wanted to work on the river too.

Clemens arranged for Henry to work on the Pennsylvania. One day the pilot, Tom Brown, started to hurt Henry because of a tiny mistake. Defending his brother, Clemens hit the pilot on the head with a chair, and as punishment got thrown off the boat for the next trip. Clemens told Henry that, in case of an emergency, he should always help the people into the lifeboats rather than himself. He said, you can always swim across the river. Unfortunately, the boilers overheated and exploded. Henry was thrown far from the boat. Taking his brother's advice, he swam back to the boat, unaware that he was badly injured. He helped people onto the lifeboats as Clemens instructed. Within six days, Henry died in a room with other seriously injured people. From then on, Clemens always blamed himself for his brother's death. Later, Clemens got his license and became an official steamboat pilot, a job he held for about four-and-a-half years. His adventures on the steamboat added flavor to some of his stories such as Life on the Mississippi and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Suddenly the country was thrust into the Civil War and steamboat travel became scarce.

So, in 1861, Clemens joined a group who were fighting for the South. He was given a mule, a rifle, blankets, a suitcase, a frying pan, a quilt, some rope, boots, and an umbrella. What Clemens learned the most while he was fighting was retreating! Clemens started to write short funny stories and send them to newspapers. Before long, a newspaper called The Daily Territorial, wanted to hire him as editor for $25 a week. He accepted, and left for Virginia City. When he wrote anything serious, he would sign it with his real name, Samuel Clemens. But when he wrote something funny and fictional, he signed it with his pen name, Mark Twain. "Mark Twain" was a call from a river man meaning "safe water" (twelve feet or two fathoms). He became well known for a series of hoaxes he devised. One of his biggest hoaxes was when he wrote about some miners who uncovered a three-hundred-year-old petrified man thumbing his nose. People all over started making different versions of the story. Most people thought it was true.

It was all over magazines and newspapers, and officials started getting angry and threatened to throw Mark Twain in jail. Twain fled the town and went to San Francisco. He worked for a new newspaper called The Morning Call. The honest way he wrote about the government made politicians angry (journalists were supposed to be in their service, after all!) and Twain fled town again. This time he went to Sacramento Valley where he swapped stories with other men. There he heard an ancient Greek tale about a frog jumping contest in 1664. Mark Twain wrote his own version called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." It was printed in newspapers all over and Twain soon became known as "The Wild Humorist of the Pacific Slope." Twain traveled places working for more newspapers and writing lots of stories about his experiences. When Twain was 31 years old he published "Jumping Frog" and other stories in a collection. Then he took a trip to Europe and toured for five months. When he returned in 1867, he wrote a book called Innocents Abroad that was based on his travels.

Some stories that were written by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, were actually based on stories of his childhood. Huck was based on Sam's good friend Tom Blankenship and Becky was based on Laura Hawkins, his sweetheart. Tom was based on Twain himself, and Aunt Polly was based on his mother, Jane Clemens. Mark Twain used his experience and knowledge in many of his stories. He used real people and things that really existed and then changed their names. During his travels, Twain had met Charles Langdon from New York. He showed Twain a portrait of his sister, Olivia. On February 2, 1870, Twain and Olivia got married. They lived in Buffalo for some time, then moved to Connecticut. They built a big house in Hartford. Here Twain lived with his three girls, his dozen cats, and his wife, Olivia. Lots of Twain's books were published in Hartford but most of them were created near Elmira, New York, on the Langdon's farm. On a hill near the house, they built a study for Twain.

It had eight sides that looked like a ship pilot's house on a steamboat. This was where the author worked. Twain made a lot of money from writing his books, but he lost money by investing in inventions. So he went to England where living was cheaper. He was there for nine years. But then Twain came face to face with a $150,000 debt. So then for a year he went on a worldwide tour giving lectures. He then paid his debts and returned to Connecticut in 1900. Mark Twain spent his last years in a house in Connecticut. Everyone respected the man who was a river pilot, typesetter, humorist, much loved author, and more! Twain always had a cat around, and, if you were wondering who the favorites were, they were Blatherskite, Apollinaris, Beelzebub, and last but not least, Buffalo Bill. On April 20, 1910, Halley's comet was seen in the sky. Twain always said that he had come with the comet and would go with it.

This was less a joke than a prophecy, for he died on April 21, 1910. After his death, some of his books were translated into many foreign languages, and even though he's not around any more, you can always read his books and keep on laughing! Where Did Mark Twain's Pseudonym Come From? | The Huffington Post Where Did Mark Twain's Pseudonym Come From? 10/08/2013 04:34 pm ET | Updated Oct 09, 2013 350 Maddie Crum Culture Writer, The Huffington Post AP If you're familiar with Mark Twain's memorable novels, you're probably aware that his pen name is not his given name. The author and satirist best known for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, a town located along the Mississippi River that would later serve as locational inspiration for his books.

He spent years working on riverboats, where he met riverboat captain Isaiah Sellers, who, he claims, went by "Mark Twain." The colloquialism was used to denote whether or not water is deep enough for safe passage . Isaiah died in 1863, and, according to Mark Twain, "as he could no longer need that signature, I laid violent hands upon it without asking permission of the proprietor's remains." This had long been accepted as the story behind his pen name, but book dealer and scholar Kevin Mac Donnell stumbled upon a magazine article that likely debunks this myth. When searching for lesser-known works by Mark Twain, Mac Donnell discovered an earlier use of the name in a humor journal called Vanity Fair(no, not that Vanity Fair). Daniel Hernandez writes in the LA Review of Books : In a burlesque titled “The North Star,” the sketch reports a farcical meeting of Charleston mariners who adopt a resolution “abolishing the use of the magnetic needle, because of its constancy to the north.” These characters include a “Mr.

Pine Knott,” (a pun for dense wood), “Lee Scupper” (a drain), and “Mark Twain,” (shallow depth in shipboard jargon). The anecdote makes perfect sense, considering the author's satirical outward demeanor. He used two pen names before settling on the one he's now known for: "Josh" and the more slapstick, "Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass." Of Twain's paradoxical personality, Carmela Ciuraru wrote for The Huffington Post : Mark Twain was a brilliant self-marketer, fastidiously sustaining his image as America's most beloved writer. The celebrity in the white suit was charming, popular, witty, and jovial, and a raconteur without peer. Then there was Samuel Clemens: a man who lived with profound feelings of guilt, shame, insecurity, and self-loathing. Twain joins George Orwell, Ayn Rand, and Pablo Neruda as one of many classic authors who used noms de plume . While some writers, such as George Eliot and J.K. Rowling, choose to protect their identity for practical reasons (namely, gender stereotypes), others' reasoning remains a mystery.

Also on HuffPost: Hannibal.net | The Hannibal Courier-Post Mark Twain Biography | Twain's children Mark Twain is one of America's truly unique and defining personalities. His ability to tap into American culture and humor gave him an invaluable insight in his writings and speeches. Known for his realism, memorable characters, bluntness and hatred of hypocrisy and oppression, Twain is definitely one of the most recognizable figures in American history. Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorn Clemens on Nov. 30, 1835, in Florida, Mo. His parents John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton's families were originally from Virginia, and the couple had made four moves westward prior to Sam's birth. Sam was the couples' sixth child and in 1839, the family moved to nearby Hannibal, Mo. It was in this small river town that Clemens would spend his boyhood years. During this crucial time in his life, Clemens developed a strong tie to the Mississippi River, along which Hannibal is located. Steamboats landed at the town three times a day, and these river chariots captured Clemens' imagination as he dreamed of one day becoming a steamboat captain.

Despite Clemens' love for the river, his first job was not on the mighty Mississippi, but as a printer's apprentice to Joseph Ament, who published the Missouri Courier. Clemens would take the job in 1848, a year after his fathers death. In 1851, he began setting type for and contributing sketches to his brother Orion's Hannibal Journal. During the next two years, he continued at the Journal and would take over as editor in Orion's absence. Clemens even got a few of his sketches published in the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post in 1852. Clemens left Hannibal in 1853, but would not completely cut his ties with his hometown. While working as a printer in New York City and Philadelphia, he had travel letters published in the Hannibal Journal. He would return to the Midwest in 1854, at age 19, and spent the next four years living in several cities in the area. One of the cities was Keokuk, Iowa, where he would reunite with his brother Orion to work on Orion's new paper, the Keokuk Journal.

In 1857, Clemens was 21 years old and looking for new adventures. He headed to New Orleans, where he hoped to find passage on a ship to South America. While there, he met steamboat pilot Horace Bixby and was able to persuade Bixby to accept him as an apprentice for a fee of $500. Clemens would spend the next two years as a cub pilot, and would receive his pilot's license in 1859. Clemens' steamboat pilot career was short-lived. With the outbreak of the Civil war in April 1861, all traffic on the river was halted. Clemens joined a volunteer militia group called the Marion Rangers. The group would drill for two weeks before disbanding. In the summer of 1861, Orion Clemens had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as secretary of Nevada, and Orion appointed Sam as his secretary. The two would head west together to the Nevada Territory by stagecoach. When Clemens arrived in Nevada he became enthralled with making his fortune by mining. Prospectors had come from around the country to try their hand at mining gold and silver.

Clemens traveled all around the territory trying to strike it rich. The Comstock Lode discovery in 1858, one of the largest metal deposits in the world, showed that there were precious metals around, but Clemens was unable to find it. Clemens never did strike it rich, and was forced to work in a quartz mill to support himself. To help supplement his income, Clemens contributed humorous letters to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and in 1862 he became a reporter for the paper. He was paid $25 a week and wrote on a wide variety of topics, from the territorial legislature to humorous pieces as well. In 1863 he began signing his articles with the pseudonym Mark Twain, a Mississippi River phrase meaning "two fathoms deep." Clemens and his new name would move to San Francisco in 1864, to apparently avoid antiduelling laws after challenging a rival editor to fight. Twain worked for the Call, a local paper, in San Fransico, as a reporter and was the Pacific correspondent for the Territorial Enterprise.

Twain worked for a variety of publications over the next few years and met American writers Artemus Ward and Bret Harte, who would encourage and help him in his writings. In 1865 Twain rewrote a tale he had heard in the California gold fields. The story was "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and told of a contest gone bad when one frog was filled with lead shot so he couldn't jump. Twain's short story become a national sensation and within months the writer was know around the country. Twain stayed in San Francisco for four years. In 1866 he took a four-month trip to Hawaii to act as a correspondent for the Sacramento Union. He wrote a series of letters during his trip known as the "Sandwich Islands" letters. Upon his return, Twain, now 30, arranged his first lecture tour. The tour lasted two months as Twain made stops in northern California and western Nevada. It was the start of a big part of Twain's life. For the rest of his life he would be world renowned for his speeches and lectures.

In 1867 Twain lectured in New York City, and in the same year he visited Europe and Palestine. Taking from his own experiences from these trips, Twain wrote "The Innocents Abroad" (1869). The book was a humorous look at aspects of European culture that impressed American tourists. The book was a great success, but a bigger personal success awaited Twain. In 1869, he met Olivia (Livy) Langdon, the sister of an old friend. Twain, now 33, traveled back to California for a lecture tour and he continued to publish several sketches in a wide verity of publications. The same year he also began to secretly court Livy. The two married in 1870. Livy, 25, and Twain, 35, began living in Buffalo, New York. They stayed there briefly and then moved to Hartford, Connecticut. The marriage marked a dramatic turn in Twain's life. His life became more stable but still very active. He continued to write columns for many publications and was editor for the Buffalo Express while in New York. In the decade to come, Twain wrote his most well-known books.

During this period in 1870, however, tragedy struck the young couple. First Livy's father died; then her close friend died while staying with the Clemenses; finally, their first child, Langdon, was born premature, and lived only two years in a sickly state. The situation stabilized the following year, when Twain rented a house in Hartford's upper class Nook Farm. He published "Roughing It", continued on lecture tours throughout the country, bought a parcel of land in Nook Farm to build a house and visited England for the first time. In March 1872 the Clemens family grew by one when Susy Clemens was born. During the next 20 years Twain's family and fame would both grow. Twain wrote his most recognized books from his home in Hartford or at Quarry Farm, near Elmira, New York.

"Roughing It" (1872) recounts his early adventures as a miner and journalist; "The Gilded Age" (1874) his first non-fiction book; "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) celebrates boyhood in a small Mississippi River town; "A Tramp Abroad" (1880) describes Twains adventures through Germany and the Alps; "The Prince and the Pauper" (1882), a children's book; "Life on the Mississippi" (1883) Twain's recollections of his experiences as a river boat pilot and his memories of a visit back to the area more than two decades later; "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1889) a satirical look at feudal England. In June 1874, Twain's second daughter, Clara, was born. His and Livy's third and final child, Jean, was born in 1880. Twain was now settled into his home in Hartford and as he wrote his great novels he also continued to lecture and write sketches for area publications.

Many of Twain's works during this period were tied to his childhood experiences in Hannibal. "Life of the Mississippi", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and his most famous book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884). Huck Finn, the sequel to Tom Sawyer, is considered Twain's masterpiece. The book is the story of Huck Finn, a boy who flees his father by rafting down the Mississippi River. He is accompanied on his journey by a runaway slave named Jim. The book portrays many of the evils that are present in men and women, as well as integral conflict and a sense of ethics as Huck battles between breaking the law and helping Jim escape. The book is full of authentic language and insight into the culture of the pre-civil war South. The same year that Huck Finn was published, Twain formed the firm Charles L. Webster & Company. The company published Twain's works and that of other writers, including American general and president Ulysses S. Grant. The company suffered a critical blow after a disastrous investment in an automatic typesetting machine. Twain's company filed for bankruptcy in 1894 and left Twain in considerable debt.

Twain's financial problems caused him to move his family to Europe in 1891. For most of the decade, the family lived in various countries throughout Europe, including France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Even through these tumultuous times, Twain continued to write and lecture. He used a worldwide lecture tour and the book based on those travels, "Following the Equator" (1897), to pay off his debts. He also revived help from Standard Oil executive Henry Rogers. Twain payed off all of his debt by 1898. Before he was able to rid himself of his financial troubles, a tragedy befell him and his family. While on the lecture tour that payed off his debt, his oldest daughter Susy contracted meningitis in 1896 and would die in August, in Hartford. The death of his daughter and his business failure greatly effected Twain. During the latter part of his life Twain would become very pessimistic and bitter.

Twain's later works included "Pudd'nhead Wilson" (1894), "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" (1896), and short stories "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg" (1899) and "The War Prayer" (1905). At the turn of the century, Twain spent most of his time in New York City lecturing and taking an active role in the city's social scene. He received an honorary degree in 1901 from Yale University and from the University of Missouri in 1902. Tragedy again crept into Twain's life during 1903, when Livy became seriously ill. She moved to Florence, Italy later that year after being advised by her doctor to head to a warmer climate. Twain remained in the U.S. and did not see Livy much in the last year of her life. She died in June 1904, in Florence. After Livy's death, Twain spent most of his time in New York City. He continued to write and make public speeches.

He was by this time a national hero and he used his recognition to speak out against injustice and intollerence. Clemens received another honorary degree in 1907, this one from Oxford University. Twain's most notable writings during the final years of his life were "Extracts From Adam's Diary" (1904), "Eve's Diary" (1906), "What is Man?" (1906), "Chapters From My Autobiography" (1906/07), and "Letters From the Earth" (1909). In his final years, Clemens lived in Redding, Conn., in a home he called Stormfield. Clemens moved into Stormfield in 1908, his final residence. The house would not bring Clemens luck, however. His youngest daughter, Jean, developed epilepsy in the late 1890s, and on Christmas Eve 1909, she died of a seizure at Stormfield. Clemens was decimated by the passing of Jean. He grieved by writing about her passing. "The Death of Jean" would be his last substantial writing.

The piece culminated his grief about Jean's death as well as that of his wife, son and daughter Susy. Once completed, Twain vowed to never write again. Twain's health would fail him after Jean's death. In January of 1910, he went to Bermuda because of his health, but after it appeared his health wasn't improving he returned to Stormfield where he sank into a coma on April 21, 1910. That night his heart failed and he died in his bed. A large funeral procession was held in New York City two days later, and a service was at the Presbyterian Brick Church. Samuel Clemens died at age 74 and was buried next to his wife and children at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Elmira, N.Y. At the same time of Twain's death, Halley's Comet reappeared in the April skies. The last time the comet had appeared was in November 1835, the time of Twain's birth. Twain often said the he would "go out with the comet." Remarkably, his prediction came true. Twain's life and works were defined by America.

His experiences from growing up in Hannibal to life in the West gave him insight into America's conscience and allowed him to write and depict the American experience very accurately. He was known and respected throughout the world as a humorist during his life, and since his death, his reputation has only grown. Today, Mark Twain is known as a great writer as well as a humorist and American icon. For a list of the top books on Mark Twain, click here. All contents © Copyright The Hannibal Courier-Post and GateHouse Media, Inc. Welcome to the Mark Twain House & Museum - Biography of Mark Twain Biography of Mark Twain Biography of Mark Twain A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens‚ 1835-1910 As Twain’s books provide insight into the past‚ the events of his personal life further demonstrate his role as an eyewitness to history. During his lifetime‚ Sam Clemens watched a young United States evolve from a nation torn apart by internal conflicts to one of international power. He experienced America’s vast growth and change - from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ big government and foreign wars.

And along the way‚ he often had something to say about the changes happening in his country. The Early Years Samuel Clemens was born on November 30‚ 1835 in Florida‚ Missouri‚ the sixth of seven children. At the age of 4‚ Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River. Missouri‚ at the time‚ was a fairly new state (it had gained statehood in 1821) and comprised part of the country’s western border. It was also a slave state. Sam’s father owned one slave and his uncle owned several. In fact‚ it was on his uncle’s farm that Sam spent many boyhood summers playing in the slave quarters‚ listening to tall tales and the slave spirituals that he would enjoy throughout his life. In 1847‚ when Sam was 11‚ his father died. Shortly thereafter he left school‚ having completed the fifth grade‚ to work as a printer’s apprentice for a local newspaper. His job was to arrange the type for each of the newspaper’s stories‚ allowing Sam to read the news of the world while completing his work.

Twain’s Young Adult Life At 18‚ Sam headed east to New York City and Philadelphia‚ where he worked on several different newspapers and found some success at writing articles. By 1857‚ he had returned home to embark on a new career as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861‚ however‚ all traffic along the river came to a halt‚ as did Sam’s pilot career. Inspired by the times‚ Sam joined a volunteer Confederate unit called the Marion Rangers‚ but he quit after just two weeks. In search of a new career‚ Sam headed west in July of 1861‚ at the invitation of his brother‚ Orion‚ who had just been appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory. Lured by the infectious hope of striking it rich in Nevada’s silver rush‚ Sam traveled across the open frontier from Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach. Along the journey Sam encountered Native American tribes for the first time as well as a variety of unique characters‚ mishaps and disappointments. These events would find a way into his short stories and books‚ particularly Roughing It .

After failing as a silver prospector‚ Sam began writing for the Territorial Enterprise‚ a Virginia City‚ Nevada‚ newspaper where he used‚ for the first time‚ his pen name‚ Mark Twain. Wanting a change by 1864‚ Sam headed for San Francisco where he continued to write for local papers. In 1865‚ Sam’s first “big break” came with the publication of his short story‚ “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog ” in papers across the country. A year later‚ Sam was hired by the Sacramento Union to visit and report on the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). His writings were so popular that‚ upon his return‚ he embarked upon his first lecture tour‚ which established him as a successful stage performer. Hired by the Alta California to continue his travel writing from the east‚ Sam arrived in New York City in 1867. He quickly signed up for a steamship tour of Europe and the Holy Land. His travel letters‚ full of vivid descriptions and tongue-in-cheek observations‚ met with such audience approval that they were later reworked into his first book‚ The Innocents Abroad in 1869.

It was also on this trip that Clemens met his future brother-in-law‚ Charles Langdon. Langdon reportedly showed Sam a picture of his sister‚ Olivia ‚ and Sam fell in love at first sight. Twain Starts a Family and Moves to Hartford After courting for two years‚ Sam Clemens and Olivia (Livy) Langdon were married in 1870. They settled in Buffalo‚ New York‚ where Sam had become a partner‚ editor and writer for the daily newspaper the Buffalo Express. While living in Buffalo‚ their first child‚ Langdon Clemens‚ was born. In 1871‚ Sam moved his family to Hartford‚ Connecticut‚ a city he had come to love while visiting his publisher there‚ and where he had made friends. Livy also had family connections to the city. For the first few years the Clemenses rented a house in the heart of Nook Farm‚ a residential area that was home to numerous writers‚ publishers and other prominent figures. In 1872‚ Sam’s recollections and tall tales from his frontier adventures were published in his book‚ Roughing It .

That same year the Clemenses’ first daughter Susy was born‚ but their son‚ Langdon‚ died at the age of two from diphtheria. In 1873‚ Sam’s focus turned toward social criticism. He and Hartford Courant publisher Charles Dudley Warner co-wrote The Gilded Age ‚ a novel that attacked political corruption‚ big business and the American obsession with getting rich that seemed to dominate the era. Ironically‚ a year after its publication‚ the Clemenses’ elaborate 25-room house on Farmington Avenue‚ which had cost the then-huge sum of $40‚000-$45‚000‚ was completed. Twain Writes his Most Famous Books While Living in Hartford For the next 17 years (1874-1891)‚ Sam‚ Livy and their three daughters (Clara was born in 1874 and Jean in 1880) lived in the Hartford home. During those years Sam completed some of his most famous books‚ often finding a summer refuge for uninterrupted work at his sister-in-law’s farm in Elmira‚ N.Y.

Novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Life on the Mississippi (1883) captured both his Missouri memories and depictions of the American scene. Yet‚ his social commentary continued. The Prince and the Pauper (1881) explored class relations as does A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) which‚ going a step further‚ criticized oppression in general while examining the period’s explosion of new technologies. And‚ in perhaps his most famous work‚ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)‚ Clemens‚ by the way he attacked the institution of slavery‚ railed against the failures of Reconstruction and the continued poor treatment of African Americans in his own time. Huckleberry Finn was also the first book published by Sam’s own publishing company‚ The Charles L. Webster Company. In an attempt to gain control over publication as well as to make substantial profits‚ Sam created the publishing company in 1884. A year later‚ he contracted with Ulysses S. Grant to publish Grant’s memoirs; the two-volume set provided large royalties for Grant’s widow and was a financial success for the publisher as well.

Twain’s Financial Ruin and Subsequent Travels Although Sam enjoyed financial success during his Hartford years‚ he continually made bad investments in new inventions‚ which eventually brought him to bankruptcy. In an effort to economize and pay back his debts‚ Sam and Livy moved their family to Europe in 1891. When his publishing company failed in 1894‚ Sam was forced to set out on a worldwide lecture tour to earn money. In 1896‚ tragedy struck when Susy Clemens‚ at the age of 24‚ died from meningitis while on a visit to the Hartford home. Unable to return to the place of her death‚ the Clemenses never returned to Hartford to live. From 1891 until 1900‚ Sam and his family traveled throughout the world. During those years‚ Sam witnessed the increasing exploitation of weaker governments by European powers‚ which he described in his book‚ Following the Equator (1897). The Boer War in South Africa and the Boxer Rebellion in China fueled his growing anger toward imperialistic countries and their actions. With the Spanish-American and Philippine War in 1898‚ Sam’s wrath was redirected toward the American government.

When he returned to the United States in 1900‚ his finances restored‚ Sam readily declared himself an anti-imperialist and‚ from 1901 until his death‚ served as the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League. Twain’s Darkest Times and Late Life In these later years‚ Sam’s writings turned dark. They began to focus on human greed‚ cruelty and questioned the humanity of the human race. His public appearances followed suit and included a harshly sarcastic public introduction of Winston Churchill in 1900. Even though Sam’s lecture tour had managed to get him out of debt‚ his anti-government writings and speeches threatened his livelihood once again. Labeled by some as a traitor‚ several of Sam’s works were never published during his lifetime either because magazines would not accept them or because of a personal fear that his marketable reputation would be ruined. In 1903‚ after living in New York City for three years‚ Livy became ill and Sam and his wife returned to Italy where she died a year later. After her death‚ Sam lived in New York until 1908 when he moved into his last house‚ “Stormfield”‚ in Redding‚ Connecticut.

In 1909‚ his middle daughter Clara was married. In the same year Jean‚ the youngest daughter‚ died from an epileptic seizure. Four months later on April 21‚ 1910‚ Sam Clemens died at the age of 74. Like any good journalist‚ Sam Clemens‚ a.k.a. Mark Twain‚ spent his life observing and reporting on his surroundings. In his writings he provided images of the romantic‚ the real‚ the strengths and weaknesses of a rapidly changing world. By examining his life and his works‚ we can read into the past - piecing together various events of the era and the responses to them. We can delve into the American mindset of the late nineteenth century and make our own observations of history‚ discover new connections‚ create new inferences and gain better insights into the time period and the people who lived in it. As Sam once wrote‚ “Supposing is good‚ but finding out is better.” Restore:

Question: What was writer Mark Twain's real surname?
Answer: Clemens