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We are called the nation of inventors. 
And we are. We could still claim that title and 
wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped 
with the first thing we ever invented, 
which was human liberty. 
~Mark Twain~ 

Mark Twain was a pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The name, Mark Twain is a riverboat term meaning two fathoms, or a depth of 12 feet. Twain is one of America's greatest fiction authors. Although he had a serious and even somewhat pessimistic outlook about life, he is also one of America's greatest humorists. Some say he "effectively used comic exaggeration to attack the false pride and self-satisfaction he saw in humanity." In the literary world, Twain is credited for "the development of a writing style that was distinctly American, rather than an imitation of the style of English writers. The loose rhythms of the language in his books give the impression of real speech. Twain's realistic prose style has influenced numerous American writers. Ernest Hemingway stated that "all modern American literature comes from...Huckleberry Finn" a book by Mark Twain, considered by many to be his greatest accomplishment. Some of Twain's more gloomy works, such as The Mysterious Stranger, were once not very popular. However, today they are considered excellent reading to gather a better understanding of Mark Twain and his personal life. He wrote a variety of published materials, from essays, short stories and travel guides to novels. He often wrote about life on the Mississippi River, where he spent a great deal of his youth and young adulthood years. Today's most popular works of Mark Twain are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Twain was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. Mark Twain had a brother and a sister. His family also owned a slave, Jenny. Jenny was a wonderful storyteller and influenced Mark Twain for life with her stories. When Twain was 4 years old, in 1839 his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri located on the Mississippi River. All the activity around the Mississippi River wharfs enthralled Mark Twain as a young boy. He loved seeing the many different people who traveled the river on the steamboats. Twain met people from all walks of life on the wharfs. 

Twain's father died when Mark was only 12. Due to family debt accrued by his father, Mark Twain went to work in 1847 at the Missouri Courier in Hannibal, Missouri. In 1851, Mark and his older brother, Orion worked together to print a newspaper, the Hannibal Journal. Twain wrote reports for the paper, but also submitted poems and humorous sketches to the paper. Mark Twain had little formal education past elementary school. He gained his knowledge from working in the print shop. It is said that, "Mark Twain's acquaintance with literature began with putting words into type, not ideas into words."

Mark Twain had a passion for travel. After the marriage of his sister, Twain left the Hannibal Journal to travel. In 1853 he visited New York City, going on to Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and St Louis. Throughout his travels he would work for brief stints in print shops receiving low wages. He eventually went to Keokuk, Iowa to work with his brother in another print business. 

In 1857, Mark Twain headed down the Mississippi to New Orleans. His final destination was to be South America. However, he became enthralled with the riverboat journey, and persuaded Horace Bixby, a riveroat pilot to teach him to pilot riverboats. He became a licensed riverboat pilot by 1859. This newly acquired skill proved to change Twain's life. It paid well. It also gave him the opportunity to more closely observe the many types of people who traveled the Mississippi on steamboats. He described his encounters on the riverboats in these words...."in that brief, sharp schooling, I got personally and familiarly acquainted with about all the different types of human nature that are to be found in fiction, biography, or history." These acquaintances became a great asset to Twain's future writing. 

Due to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, the Mississippi River was closed to commercial traffic. This brought an end to Twain's riverboat piloting days. He volunteered to fight in the Confederate volunteer company. After a short two week period with the Confederate company, he decided to not be involved in the war. He left the army and traveled to Carson City, Nevada with his brother, Orion. He attempted unsuccessfully to prospect for gold and silver. He came to the conclusion at this time that he must support himself by journalism. In 1862 he began working on the Territorial Enterprise, a paper in Virginia City, Nevada. He first published under the pen name of Mark Twain on February 3, 1862, while working for the Enterprise. 

Soon Twain's wanderlust took him to California. He joined the staff at Morning Call and also wrote for the Calfornian, a journal. His first popular story was printed in the Saturday Press in New York on November 18, 1865. It was titled "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." By the year 1866, Twain was correspondent for the Sacremento Union and found himself working in Hawaii. Upon returning to San Francisco, Twain realized his talent exceeded what newspapers and magazines could offer him, and he began a lecture tour.

In 1867 Mark Twain traveled back to the East coast. His first book was published The Jumping Frog and Other Sketches. His book was popular both in America and in England. Twain was encouraged by his success. He traveled to Europe and visited Spain, Italy, Greece, Egypt and the Holy Land. He later wrote about his travels in The Innocents Abroad, which was published in 1869.

Feb. 2, 1870 Twain married Olivia Langdon, who was independently wealthy. They settled in Hartford, Connecticut in 1871. Mark and Olivia Twain had a son, Langdon, who died in 1872 as a baby. The Twain's had three daughters, Susy, Clara, and Jean, between 1872 and 1880. Susy died in infancy. Clara lived a full life, but suffered frailty her entire life. Her death greatly sadden Twain in his later years. Jean married a pianist. 

Twain and his family were able to move into a 19-room house in Hartford, Connecticut in 1874. Twain wrote many of his best books during the twenty years he spent in Connecticut. He recounted his trip out west in Roughing It which was published in 1872. Tom Sawyer, about his childhood in Hannibal, Missouri was published in 1876. Life on the Mississippi, about his life as a riverboat pilot was published in 1883. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was first published in 1884. This is considered his greatest novel.

Even though Twain was very successful as a writer, he found himself bankrupt in 1894 due to a failed business deal with C. L. Webster and Co. He set out on a world-wide lecture to try and meet his financial obligations. His attempt to recover financially was somewhat successful, however he suffered personal loss during this time which made him very pessimistic.

After the death of his daughter and wife Twain's health deteriorated. He died April 21, 1910. An old pressman who was printer's devil in an office where Mark was an editorial writer tells this anecdote of his habits of work: "One of my duties was to sweep the room where editors worked. Every day Mark would give me a nickel to get away from him. He would rather die in the dust than uncross his legs. One day he gave me a nickel to dot an 'I' in his copy for him. He certainly did enjoy life, that man did."

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed 
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. 
So throw off the bowlines. 
Sail away from the safe harbor. 
Catch the trade winds in your sails. 
Explore. Dream. Discover.
~Mark Twain~

Mark Twain Quotes

Above photo by Akhilesh Sharma

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