Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his main pen name Mark Twain, is arguably the most famous American author of all time.
Samuel L. Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth of seven children of Jane Lampton Clemens and John Marshall Clemens. When Samuel was four years old, in 1839, he and his family moved 35 miles east to the growing port city of Hannibal, Missouri. Sam’s father was a judge who built a two-story house in Hannibal in 1844 (Official Website of Mark Twain Biography,1).
As a boy, Samuel was confined to this house much of the time due to poor health. Thankfully, however; by age nine Sam was rid of his ailments and able to attend private school, swim, fish, and play with the other children. The boys often played outside along the Mississippi River where they pretended to be pirates for fun, which is reflected in Clemens’s writings (Official Website of Mark Twain Biography,1).
The Clemens family never had much money and usually struggled financially. When John Clemens, Samuel’s father, died of pneumonia in 1847, the family’s situation got even worse (University of Missouri, 2). Having completed the fifth grade, Samuel left school to work as a printer’s apprentice for a local newspaper. Sam worked as a typesetter for his older brother, Orion, who owned a newspaper company in Hannibal (The West, 1).
At 18, Samuel headed east, where he worked on several different newspapers and found some success as a writer. While in St. Louis, Clemens found work as a riverboat pilot’s apprentice. By 1858, Samuel was a licensed riverboat pilot. It was while Sam worked on the river that he found his new, and more famous name. In the river navigating
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...ere he lived until he moved to Redding, Connecticut in 1908. in 1909, Samuel’s middle daughter was married. Later the same year, his youngest daughter died of an epileptic seizure. Four months later, on April 21, 1910, Samuel Langhorne Clemens died at the age of 74. The night he died, Samuel fulfilled his prophecy of dying on a night when Halley's Comet was visible, as it was the night he was born (The West, 2).
Works Cited
"A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens‚ 1835-1910."
Welcome to the Mark Twain House & Museum. 6 May 2014.
“Official Website of Mark Twain Biography.” 5 May 2014.
Shmoop Editorial Team. “Mark Twain Timeline of Important Dates.” 6 May 2014
"The West." New Perspectives on The West, Samuel Clemens. PBS. 6 May 2014.
University of Missouri "Samuel L. Clemens (1835 - 1910)." Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark
Twain). 6 May 2014.
Mark Twain, originally born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was the sixth child of a family of eight. Born to John and Jane Clemens on November 30, 1835, Twain was born in the small town of Florida, Missouri. At the age of four, Mark Twain and his family then relocated to Hannibal in the hope of drastically improving their living conditions. He later died of heart disease in Redding, Connecticut on April 21,1910. By lineage, Twain was of Southern decent, as both of his parents' birthplaces were that of Virginia. Slaveholding in the small community of Hannibal, with only a population of 2000 at the time, provided a variety of both a rugged lifestyle mixed with southern tradition. With a lifestyle previously mentioned, these played as a major influence in his major writings, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
who is more commonly known by his pen name, Mark Twain. He was born in
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30th, 1885. It was during this period of history that Halley’s Comet was visible to Earth (Upton, 2013). Why that in itself may not be that remarkable, what does make it interesting as it pertains to Mark Twain is when it was visible again. Halley’s Comet returned to Earth about 75 years later (Upton, 2013). It was during its return on April 10th, 1885 that Mark Twain passed away. In fact, Twain hoped to die during the comet’s return. Twain stated, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together (Upton, 2013). While this is at the very least an interesting fact about Mark Twain, his literary works are what he is famous for.
When furthering my research, I developed a second point of interest. Two local scholars, Martin B. Fried and Tom Reigstad both suggest that Buffalo was a major point of transition for Clemens. Fried writes, “His Buffalo experience, scanted in most biographies, has significance because it was the final stage in a long campaign for an artistic existence free of financial worries and of the burdens of journalistic writing.” This suggestion—that his time in Buffalo inspired his development from humorist and journalist to the novelist who produced Huck Finn—intrigued me de...
Samuel Longhorn Clemens, or better known as Mark Twain is recognized for his novels set in his adolescence (America 's Story from America 's Library). Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri and was the sixth of seven children. At the age of four, Mark Twain moved to a small frontier town in Hannibal, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River with his family. Years later, on April 21, 1910 Mark Twain died in Redding, Connecticut in his sleep. Mark Twain’s purpose for writing his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was to provide a clear view of the culture and lifestyle during the period of the novel.
Paine, Albert B. A Biography The Personal Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Vol. 2. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1912. Print.
Twain's life was going along really well until he was twelve. At that age, in 1847, his father died from Pneumonia. As expected, Twain was shocked from the lose of his father because he was at such a young age and it was then that his formal days of learning were ended. For him he began to work as a printers apprentice To raise money. Twain was prepared for his soon to be career by working with a typesetter and reading a lot in his spare time. When Mark Twain worked as a typesetter and made articles to the newspaper of his older brother Orion Clemens.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, which was two months sooner than expected. At this time Missouri was a slave holding state. However, Twain's father, a local storeowner, was against slavery in all forms and instilled this belief in his son at a young age. Twain 's hometown was small. He describe it as having two main roads only 100 yards long with a population of no more than 50 people. In fact so small that with a good tail wind you could spit from one end to the other (www.asahi-net.or.jp/~XA3K-soy/mt/mtpage.htm). As a young boy he dreamed of a life in a better place, filled with adventure. This was the life he led. He was taught to write as a child by his mother. Finding that he enjoyed it, he decided to make it his career.
Samuel Clemens, was the sixth child of John Marshalll and Jane Moffit Clemens, born two months prematurely and was in poor health for the first 10 years of his life. His mother tried different types of remedies during those younger years. Twain used his memories of his childhood and his illness to fill the pages of several of his books including Tom Sawyer and other writings. Clemens was often pampered, by his mother, and thus developed early in life the testing her indulgence through mischief, while offering his humor as bond for the crimes he would commit. When Twain’s mother was in her 80s, he asked her about his poor health in those early years: “I suppose that during that whole time you were uneasy about me?” “Yes, the whole time,” she answered. “Afraid I wouldn’t live?” “No,” she said, “afraid you would.” One can clearly see where Twain got his sense of humor and zest for life, (Morris, 1996)). Even though it seemed life started out rough Twain pushed his passed it all and went for what he wanted not allowing anyone to stand in his way.
The beginnings of that life were sufficiently unpromising. The family was a good one, of old Virginia and Kentucky stock, but its circumstances were reduced, its environment meager and disheartening. The father, John Marshall Clemens--a lawyer by profession, a merchant by vocation--had brought his household to Florida from Jamestown, Tennessee, somewhat after the manner of judge Hawkins as pictured in The Gilded Age. Florida was a small town then, a mere village of twenty-one houses located on Salt River, but judge Clemens, as he was usually called, optimistic and speculative in his temperament, believed in its future. Salt River would be made navigable; Florida would become a metropolis. He established a small business there, and located his family in the humble frame cottage where, five months later, was born a baby boy to whom they gave the name of Samuel--a family name--and added Langhorne, after an old Virginia friend of his father.
Ever since the loss of his father, he began to work in various jobs. From starting as “an apprentice, then a composer, with local printers, contributing occasional squibs to local newspapers” (“Mark Twain”). The early start of responsibility was just the beginning of his career. During the time, he was working for the newspaper, for six years in the newspaper company, he “finally ended up as an assistant to his brother, Orion” (“Samuel Langhorne Clemens.”). He stayed in Iowa by his brother’s side until he was around 22 years of age.
The Life of Samuel Clemens A.K.A. Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens is better known as Mark Twain, the distinguished novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and literary critic who ranks among the great figures of American Literature. Twain was born in Florida Missouri, in 1835, To John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton. As a new born Twain already had moved four times westward. In 1839 the family moved again, this time eastward to Hannibal, Missouri. Hannibal was a frontier town of less than 500 residents. As small as the town was it offered valuable materials and opportunities for a young writer. Most of the residents knew Samuel well, considering they were on the lower half of the social scale, such as poor whites and slaves. The town of Hannibal was mostly used for farmers coming in from the countryside. It was also a river town, swamped with travelers moving up stream and down stream. Some of the travelers were steamboat men, circus performers, minstrel companies, and showboat actors. Since all this action was going on all the time, that opened a big door to the beginning of Samuel’s stories. It provided a huge source of literary material. Shortly after the death of his father in 1847, he ended the brief period of his schooling to become a printer’s apprentice. Like many nineteenth century authors, he was preparing for his writing career later in life. Working as a Printer’s apprentice he got practice as a typesetter and miscellaneous reading. The first thing Samuel wrote as a used piece was a few skits for his brothers Orion’s Hannibal newspaper and a sketch, for The Dandy Frightening The Squatter, published in Boston in 1852. The first real book ever published by Mark Twain was Life on the Mississippi River. Between 1853 and 1857 Clemens worked a journeyman printer in seven different places. During this trip of making sketches and writing stories, he began eastward by boat. Twain started writing letters telling about his visits to New York and the Middle West in 1867. On his trip he seemed to have gotten him self in a lot a trouble such as disorderly conduct. After time passed Mark kept writing short stories here and there and a few sketches also. However, in 1869 he became part owner of the Buffalo Express. In 1870 Mark met the girl of his dreams and Olivia Langdon and
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. When Samuel Clemens was four years old, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he spent his childhood. Clemens first approach to literature was through typesetting for a newspaper in 1851. At the time Orion, his brother, was a newspaper publisher in Hannibal. From 1857 until 1861, he served as the pilot of a riverboat on the Mississippi River. He later used this experience in creating his novels. His first writings appeared in a newspaper on February 2, 1863 under the pen name “Mark Twain.';
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.
PBS, “Biography: Samuel Langhorne Clemens” American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series. PBS.. Web. 09 May 2014. .