Mark Twain (1835-1910)
By: Ethan Rollinger
Birth of Samuel Clemens
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) does not know that he will be a famous person one day
- Samuel Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri
- His parents are John and Jane Clemens with 6 other siblings (Orion, Henry, Benjamin, and Pleasant Clemens) 4 brothers (Pamela and Margaret Clemens) 2 sisters.
- Mark Twain was born when the Halley’s Comet was visible from Earth.
- Mark Twain was the second youngest child in the family (Henry was the youngest).
Early Childhood
- For the first 10 years of his life Mark Twain was in poor health.
- He was coddled by his mother because of his poor health.
- Mark Twain was mischievous, but due to his good nature he always got away with things.
- The Clemens moved to Hannibal, Missouri in 1839 when Mark was only 4 years old.
- In the summers, Mark visited his uncle John Quarles’s farm near Florida, Missouri, where he listened to stories told by the slave Uncle Daniel, who later became a model for Jim in Huckleberry Finn.
Education
- Mark Twain did not get a lot of education since he dropped out of school after elementary school.
- After elementary school, he worked at the Hannibal Journal for a while where he was a typesetter and contributed articles and humorous sketches.
- Mark realized that wherever he went in his life, he would get enough education by his life experiencing and by reading at the Hannibal Library.
- When he was 18-22 years of age, at the end of his education, he worked as a printer, traveling place to place.
- After being a printer Mark Twain decided to be a river pilot and that is when he adopted the name Mark Twain
Career
- After learning about the river when he was a pilot, He wrote a book about it called “Life on the Mississippi.”
- The Civil War ended Mark Twain’s career of being a river pilot,but it also started something new. He became a reporter again.
- Mark Twain traveled all over the country, when he was in California, he wrote his “Jumping Frog” story, which was in many newspapers.
- Mark was sent to Hawaii as a roving reporter, and on his return back to the mainland, he began lecturing.
- Next thing he knew, he was on a tour of the Mediterranean and Holy Land. This is where he wrote his next book “The Innocents Abroad”, which made him famous.
Family
- In February 1870, Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon.
- Mark twain and his wife moved to Hartford, Connecticut.
- Then in November 1870, Mark Twain had his first son and child, but he died early at age two.
- Mark and his wife had three daughters, Susy, Clara, and Jean Clemens.
- These were Mark Twain's happy days.
Hobbies/Interests
- As a boy, Mark Twain’s hobbies included playing hooky.
- Mark Twain’s interest was traveling across the country to find fortune.
- Another hobby that Mark enjoyed was writing books about his life experiences.
- An interest for Mark was being a riverboat pilot or just being on the river in general.
- Mark Twain loved spending time with his family.
Extra
- Mark Twain’s daughter (Susy), died when she was only 24 years old, but before she died she wrote a biography about her dad.
- Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910
- In one point of Mark Twain’s life, he and his family went broke.
- The last thing Mark wrote was a little thing called “Etiquette for the Afterlife”
- After his father died, Mark Twain’s mother, brothers, and sisters sold almost everything they had to get out of debt.