Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)

Born - November 30, 1835 in Florida, Mo.

Died - April 21, 1910 in New York

Early Life

Samuel was the sixth of seven children of John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton. When he was four, his family moved to Hannibal, Mo., where he spent his childhood swimming, fishing, playing pirates, and pulling pranks on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Missouri Connection

Samuel Clemons was born in Missouri and grew up in Hannibal, Mo., which is located near the Mississippi River. The setting of his two most famous books is Hannibal, and he used his memories of growing up near the Mississippi to write The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Claim to Fame

Samuel started out in journalism and in 1863 he began signing his name with the pseudonym “Mark Twain,” a river term meaning “two fathoms deep.” Mark Twain would be Clemens’s pen name for the rest of his life. He traveled Europe and the United States reporting for various newspapers. He finally settled in Connecticut, after marrying Olivia Langdon, where he published several books including his 2 about his childhood memories, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Later Life

Samuel continued writing and lecturing in the US and Europe. In 1902 he traveled to Missouri for the last time to accept an honorary degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. While in his home state, Clemens also visited St. Louis and returned to Hannibal. The writings of Mark Twain continue to endure on bookshelves and in the hearts and minds of readers around the world.

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