Mark Twain - biography, information, personal life. Mark Twain: Brief Biography and Interesting Facts Mark Twain Biography Report

Samuel Langhorn Clemens, better known around the world as Mark Twain, famous public figure and journalist, was born in 1835 in Missouri. He spent his childhood and adolescence in the small town of Hannibal, and they made up such a significant baggage of memories and impressions that they were enough for the writer for life. His famous Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn live in exactly the same town, and the inhabitants are written off from Samuel's neighbors.
The deceased father of the Clemens family left behind large debts, and Sam had to help his older brother from 12. He took up publishing the newspaper and the younger brother began his journalistic career by writing articles in the family newspaper. Then he travels around the country in search of work. He was interested in his work as a pilot, but destroyed the private shipping company, and Sam again remained out of work.
In 1861, he went west to Nevada to become a prospector in the silver mines, but luck stubbornly avoided him, and he again turned to the profession of a journalist. It was at this time that he chose the pseudonym Mark Twain. Since 1864, Twain has lived in San Francisco and has already worked for several publications.
He made his first experience as a writer in 1865, writing a humorous story "The Famous Jumping Frog from Calaveras". The story is based on folklore motifs and all of America was read to them. It received the title of best humorous story.
Mark Twain makes several trips to Palestine and Europe. The result of these trips is the book "Simples Abroad". Many Americans still associate the name of Mark Twain with this book.
After his marriage to Olivia Langdon, he was able to get to know industrialists, bankers, who represented big business. Economic growth was expressed in the violation of democratic principles. In the first place is the thirst for enrichment. Corruption flourishes, the power of the chistogan and the “golden calf”
Mark Twain expressed his attitude to this period of American history very accurately and witty - the “Gilded Age”.
In 1876 the most famous and famous book the writer who brought him worldwide fame, "". The success was simply stunning and after some period Mark Twain writes a sequel to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
After the publication of the sequel, the writer is no longer perceived only as a note wit, a master of a sharp word, a joker, a hoaxer. With these works, he opens the reader to a completely different America. There is racism and injustice in this America. Cruelty and violence.
Decades later, another famous American writer E. Hemingway will write that all modern American literature came out of this one book.
The end of the 19th century was a very difficult period for Mark Twain. In 1894, the writer's publishing house went bankrupt and, as in his youth, he had to look for sources of financing. Most likely, it was at this time that one of his famous aphorisms"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
In order to improve his finances, he travels and speaks to readers. whole year he had to spend world tour during which he read his works and gave public lectures. The result of this journey was the writing of a number of pamphlets and journalistic works, in which Mark Twain acts as a passionate denunciator of the colonial policy of the United States, its imperial ambitions. WITH light hand, or rather the apt word of the writer in relation to the United States, the expression "navel of the earth" appeared.
During this period, the story The Mysterious Stranger was written, which was published after his death in 1916. In this work, pessimism, bitterness, sarcasm shine through, and almost nothing is left of the comedian. From the pages, a bilious satirist talks to you in the manner of presentation familiar to Mark Twain: short, concise, clear and biting.
Death caught this restless man on the road. He died on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut.

Mark Twain (real name - Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was born on November 30, 1835 in a large family of John Marshall and Jane. Until the age of four he lived in small town Florida, Missouri. Then, together with his family, he moved to another small town in Missouri - Hannibal. It was him that Twain later immortalized on the pages of his works.

When the future writer was 12 years old, his father died. He left a large amount of debt to his family. Twain had to get a job. He was hired as an apprentice compositor for the Missouri Courier. Soon, Mark Twain's older brother, Orion, began publishing his own newspaper. It was originally called Western Union. Then it was renamed "Hannibal Journal". Mark Twain tried to help his brother, acting as a typesetter and occasionally as an author.

From 1853 to 1857 Twain traveled throughout the United States. Among the places he managed to visit are Washington, Cincinnati, New York. In 1857, Twain was about to go to South America, but instead he was apprenticed to a pilot. Two years later he was issued a pilot's certificate. Twain admitted that he could devote his whole life to this profession. His plans were intervened by the civil war that began in 1861 and put an end to the private shipping industry.

For two weeks, Twain fought on the side of the southerners. From 1861 to 1864 he lived in the territory of Nevada, where, among other things, he worked for several months in the silver mines. In 1865 he again decided to try his luck as a prospector. Only this time he started looking for gold in California. In 1867, Twain's debut collection, The Famous Jumping Frog and Other Essays, was published. From June to October, the writer traveled to European cities, including visiting Russia. In addition, he visited Palestine. The impressions received formed the basis of the book "Simples Abroad", published in 1869 and enjoyed great success.

In 1873, Twain traveled to England, where he took part in public readings held in London. He managed to get acquainted with many eminent writers. Among them is the outstanding Russian writer I. S. Turgenev. In 1876, the story "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was first published, which later became one of the most popular works Twain. The book tells about the adventures of an orphan boy who lives in the fictional town of St. Petersburg and is raised by his aunt. In 1879, Twain traveled with his family to European cities. During the trip, he met with I. S. Turgenev, the English naturalist and traveler Charles Darwin.

In the 1880s, the novels The Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Rape of the White Elephant and Other Stories were published. Twain's own publishing house, Charles Webster and Company, opened in 1884. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, the writer's financial situation got worse and worse. The publishing house went bankrupt - Twain spent a significant amount on the purchase of a new model of the printing press. As a result, it was never put into production. An important role in Twain's life was played by his acquaintance in 1893 with the oil tycoon Henry Rogers. Rogers helped the writer escape from financial ruin. At the same time, friendship with Twain had a significant impact on the character of the magnate - from a miser who was not very worried about the problems of outsiders, he turned into a person who was actively involved in charity work.

In 1906, Twain met in the United States with the writer Maxim Gorky, after which he publicly called for support for the Russian revolution. Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910 from angina pectoris. The writer was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, located in Elmira, New York.

Brief analysis of creativity

Twain's writing activity began after the civil war, which ended in 1865 and had a huge impact on both public and literary life USA. He was the representative democratic direction American literature. In his works, realism was combined with romanticism. Twain was the heir American writers- romantics 19th century and at the same time their ardent opponent. In particular, already at the very beginning of his career, he composed poisonous parodies in verse of Longfellow, the author of The Song of Hiawatha.

Twain's early works, among them - "Simples Abroad", which ridicules old Europe, and "Light", which tells about the New World, are filled with humor, cheerful fun. creative way Twain - the path from humor to bitter irony. At the very beginning, the writer created unpretentious humorous couplets. His later work- essays on human morals, filled with subtle irony, sharp satire that criticizes American society and politicians, philosophical reflections about the fate of civilization. The most important novel Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book was published in 1884. Hemingway called it the most significant work of Mark Twain and all previous US literature.

Biography and episodes of life Mark Twain. When born and died Mark Twain, memorable places and dates important events his life. writer quotes, Photo and video.

Mark Twain years of life:

born November 30, 1835, died April 21, 1910

Epitaph

"Let's live so that even the undertaker will regret us when we die!"
Aphorism of Mark Twain

"He
With one hand
Carries me
Instantly
On beach
majestic river.
And I see
In a silver swell
Life
On the Mississippi."
From a poem by Nikolai Aseev about Mark Twain

Biography

Mark Twain, the immortal creator of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, received worldwide recognition and love in the first place thanks to these books about boy friends growing up on the Mississippi. Like his other most famous work, The Prince and the Pauper, they are considered childish in our time. Meanwhile, Twain was an amazingly witty and experienced person and by no means a children's writer. Interesting life, a huge talent for the observer, a sense of humor, reaching sarcasm - all this made Twain the writer whom Hemingway called the founder of modern American literature.

Samuel Clemens was born in the old American South and lost his father early. The young man was forced to earn money with his own hands and for some time worked part-time at a publishing house, and then learned to be a pilot. The image of the great southern Mississippi River, along which Samuel drove ships, left a vivid imprint in his heart and then appeared more than once in his works.

The war broke out between the North and the South, and Clemens ended up in the army. A few months were enough for him: the young man deserted and went to his older brother in Nevada, which was rapidly developing at that time due to the silver deposits discovered there. Samuel took a job at the mine, worked as a miner. There he began to write for a local newspaper, and this determined his entire future fate.

Twain's creative path began quite late: at the age of 27, Twain began to write articles and stories, and only at 34 did he write his first significant thing. But he was lucky: the editor of the newspaper for which he worked immediately saw the talent of the young author. humorous story"The famous jumping frog of Calaveras" was reprinted in all cities of the country and finally approved the editors in the opinion that Mark Twain should be "let go". He was sent on a trip to Hawaii, obligated to send written travel reports. Upon his return, Twain toured the state, giving humorous lectures (today it would be called the word "stand-up") and gathering full houses.

The first half of Mark Twain's work is full of light, crackling humor and saturated with living language. ordinary people. The second is much more serious, more social, full of irony, often bitter. Such is the "Yankee from Connecticut", such is the last unfinished thing by Mark Twain - "The Mysterious Stranger". IN last years In his life, the writer touched on very deep topics: he thought about God from the standpoint of a categorical atheist, racial injustice from the standpoint of its ardent opponent, and social structure from the standpoint of a socialist who sympathizes with the revolutionary movement.

Twain loved his family very much, but he was destined to outlive his three children and his wife. This could not but affect the state of the writer himself. He predicted his death a year in advance, saying that he came to this world with the arrival of Halley's comet and expects to leave with its return. And so it happened: next year the writer's long-standing illness worsened, and they barely managed to transport him from Bermuda, where he spent the winter. A few weeks later, Mark Twain died of acute angina pectoris at his home in Redding.

life line

November 30, 1835 Birth date of Samuel Langorn Clemens (Mark Twain).
1847 Leaving school, starting work in a printing house.
1857 Returning home from Iowa, becoming a pilot's apprentice.
1859 Obtaining the rights of a pilot, the beginning of work on the river.
1861 Joining the Confederate army, desertion, escape to Nevada.
1862 Invitation to work in the publishing house.
1866 Trip to Hawaii.
1869 The release of Twain's first serious book, Simpletons Abroad.
1870 Marriage to Olivia Langdon.
1871 Moving with family to Hartford, Connecticut. Organization of a home "Morning Club for Youth".
1876 Creation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
1882 Creation of the book "The Prince and the Pauper".
1883 Creation of the book Life on the Mississippi.
1889 Publication of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
1901 Honorary Doctorate from Yale University.
1907 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Oxford.
April 21, 1910 Date of death of Mark Twain.
1916 Posthumous publication last composition Mark Twain "No. 44. The mysterious stranger."

Memorable places

1. City of Florida (Missouri), where Mark Twain was born.
2. The city of Hannibal, where Mark Twain's family moved when he was 4 years old.
3. San Francisco, where Mark Twain lived from 1864
4. Hawaii, where Mark Twain visited in 1866
5. Sevastopol, where Mark Twain visited in 1867
6. Mark Twain House Museum in Hartford (Connecticut) at st. Farmington, 351, where the writer lived in 1874-1891.
7. Florence, under which Mark Twain lived in Villa di Quattro in 1903-1904.
8. Redding, where Mark Twain lived the last years of his life and died in his house "Stormfield".
9. Bermuda, where Mark Twain spent the winter from 1905 until recent months before death.
10. Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, where Mark Twain is buried.

Episodes of life

The combination of words chosen by Samuel as a pseudonym is a conventional message exchanged between pilots on the river. Literally, it translates as "double mark" and denotes the maximum depth for the passage of the vessel.

Mark Twain traveled extensively, alone and with his family. He traveled to Europe and Asia, Jamaica and Cuba; in Paris he met with Turgenev, in London - with Darwin and Henry James, was acquainted with Maxim Gorky.

Mark Twain was very fond of cats, billiards and a pipe, and in many photographs he is depicted with one of the objects of his hobbies.

Testaments

“The power of one man over others means oppression—invariably and always oppression; though not always conscious, deliberate, deliberate, not always severe, or grave, or cruel, or indiscriminate, but one way or another, always oppression in one form or another. To whomever you hand over power, it will certainly manifest itself in oppression.

“Set a goal every day to do something that you don’t like. This Golden Rule will help you to do your duty without aversion.”

"When in doubt, tell the truth."

“It’s not that we don’t know something that leads us to trouble, but that we know “for sure”, and this knowledge is erroneous.”

"Pessimism is just a word for wisdom by the faint of heart."

Documentary about Mark Twain, Project Encyclopedia

condolences

“The only, incomparable, Lincoln of our literature.<…>The eternal teenager is the heart of a boy and the head of a sage."
William Dean Howells, American writer

“He could become someone; he almost became someone; but it never did."
Walt Whitman, American poet

"Praising Mark Twain is like whitewashing birches."
Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States

"Mark Twain threw his genius into the service of man, to strengthen his faith in himself, to help ensure that the human soul develops in the direction of justice, goodness and beauty."
Yuri Olesha, Soviet writer

The biography of the American writer Mark Twain, who devoted many of his books to adventure, is itself full of various trips and unexpected twists of fate. Full name prose writer - Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born at the end of the autumn of 1835, during the period when Halley's comet swept over the Earth. By a mysterious coincidence, the second flight celestial body over the planet will happen exactly on the day of the death of the writer.

29 palms

The family of the future writer lived in a small Florida village, Missouri. The parents were John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. The family experienced difficulties, although the father served as a judge. And soon they were forced to move to the navigable city of Hannibal, which was located on the banks of the American Mississippi River. Sam has the warmest memories of his childhood with this place. They formed the basis of the most popular works of the prose writer.

15 year old Mark Twain | Wikipedia

After the death of his father in 1847, when Sam was only 12 years old, the family was left on the brink of ruin. The children had to leave school and start working. The boy was lucky: his older brother Orion just opened his own printing house, and the future writer went there as a typesetter. Occasionally, he managed to print his own articles, which did not leave readers indifferent.

Youth years

At the age of 18, Samuel Clemens sets out on a trip around the country. He reads avidly, visiting the best library halls. A boy who was forced to drop out of school as a child fills in the educational gaps in New York's book depositories. Soon the young man gets the position of assistant pilot on the ship.

Jose Angel Gonzalez

According to the writer himself, he could have devoted his whole life to working on the Mississippi River, if the civil war had not begun in 1861. For a while, Sam falls into the ranks of the Confederates, but soon goes to the Wild West to the gold and silver mines.

First attempts at pen

The work of extracting precious metals did not bring Samuel a lot of money, but here for the first time he is revealed as an observant and witty writer of small pamphlets and stories. And in 1863, for the first time, the writer signs his works with the pseudonym Mark Twain, taken from shipping practice. The prose writer never signed his books with his real name. It must be said that Samuel immediately becomes popular, and his first major humorous work, The Famous Jumping Frog from Calaveras, gained fame in all states.

Ram Web

For several years in a row, the newly-made feuilletonist changes one edition after another, where he publishes his reviews and stories, honing his skills. Mark Twain speaks to audiences a lot. At the same time, one more of his talents as an excellent speaker and storyteller is revealed. During the next move, he meets his future wife Olivia, sister close friend. The photo of those times shows that we have a successful and self-confident person. Everything in him speaks about this: his look, height and posture. Samuel is going through best time own life.

The heyday of creativity

Inspired by the changes in his personal life, the writer easily creates several works in the style of realism, which fixed his name in the series classics XIX century. In the mid 70's there was famous story"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", which describes the childhood of the writer himself in a slightly different way. Then the story "The Prince and the Pauper" saw the light, which came to the taste of the American people. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court also appears, where historical theme intertwined with the theme of moving in a time machine.

Newspaper "All for you"

In the mid-80s, Samuel Clemens opened his own publishing house, and the first book was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this novel, Mark Twain for the first time vividly criticizes the established order in society. The writer also publishes the bestseller "Memories", enlightened by US President V.S. Grant. Own printing house lasted until the mid-90s, until it finally went bankrupt due to the economic collapse in the country.

Jpghoto

The last books of the writer, which were written in an already honed, verified style, did not have the same success as the first. His characters, while still being witty adventurers, find themselves in ambiguous situations that require a philosophical approach and an uncompromising choice. During these years, Mark Twain was awarded a number of doctoral degrees from leading US universities. It was very flattering for a man who had long ago been forced to leave school.

Writer's friends

Samuel Clemens greatly valued his friendship with Nikola Tesla. The age difference of more than 20 years did not interfere with their creative communication. Together they participated in the physicist's bold experiments, and in free time the writer often made fun of his serious friend. But once Nicola still managed to laugh it off. He offered the aged Samuel some means of rejuvenation, having happily tried which the writer felt that he was getting younger before his eyes. But after a while he rushed to the restroom due to severe pain in his stomach. According to him, the remedy had a radical cleansing effect on him.

big picture

In 1893, fate brought Mark Twain to the financial tycoon Henry Rogers, who was known as a great misanthrope and miser. But a close friendship with the writer changed him. The banker not only helped the writer's family overcome financial difficulties, but also became a real donor and philanthropist, which was discovered after his death. Henry spent a lot of money to support young talents. He also organized jobs for people with disabilities.

Quotes

Samuel Clemens was a very articulate man. This manifested itself both in his literary work and in colloquial speech. Many of his statements became catchphrases which have not lost their relevance to this day. Here are some of them:

“Quitting smoking is easy. I myself threw a hundred times "

“Be careful when reading health books. You can die from a typo"

“First of all, facts are needed, and only then they can be distorted”

Sunset years

The last decade of the writer's life turned out to be poisoned by the bitterness of irreparable losses: since the beginning of the new century, Mark Twain has experienced death of three children and beloved wife Olivia. At the same time, he finally established himself in his views on religion.

Econ

In his last works, The Mysterious Stranger and Letter from the Earth, which were published only years after his death, Twain sings of atheism with his usual sarcasm. The cause of his own death was angina pectoris. Her next attack claimed the life of the great writer in the middle of spring 1910 in the city of Redding, Connecticut.

Bibliography

• The famous jumping frog from Calaveras - 1867
• Simpletons Abroad - 1869
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 1876
• The Prince and the Pauper - 1882
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -1884
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -1889
• American Pretender - 1892
• Tom Sawyer Abroad - 1894
• Dupe Wilson - 1894
• Tom Sawyer - detective - 1896
• Personal Memoirs of Joan of Arc by Sieur Louis de Comte, Her Page and Her Secretary - 1896
• The Mysterious Stranger - 1916

The prominent American writer and journalist Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835, in the village of Florida, Missouri (Midwest USA). The real name of the writer is Samuel Lenghorne Clemens. Mark Twain is a pseudonym that he took for himself in his early youth. Mark Twain's father was a judge, and almost nothing is known about the writer's mother, Jane Lampton Clemens.

Biography

Mark Twain spent his childhood in the small town of Hannibal, where his father opened a small law office. In the family, in addition to Samuel, there were four more children. As the writer recalled, they lived quite modestly and sometimes even needed. Things got even worse when the father died of pneumonia in 1847, leaving his children nothing but huge debts.

At a fairly young age, Samuel had to earn his own living. When his older brother Oiron tried to take publishing and began to publish a newspaper, Samuel moonlighted as a printer in it and sometimes wrote rather sharp and sharp articles. Although, in those days, he did not think at all about the career of a writer. Sam was drawn to the sea and dreamed of becoming a sailor. Therefore, he got a job as a pilot's assistant on a steamboat that operated regular voyages along the Mississippi. It was at this time that Samuel chose a pseudonym for himself. On English language the marine term "mark twain" (mark two fathoms), meant that the depth of the river is quite enough for the safe passage of a river vessel.

But Sam's maritime career, to his great regret, ends already in 1861. Begins Civil War and the private shipping company is closed. Future Writer he leaves to seek his fortune in Nevada, works for some time in silver mines, then, like all Americans covered by the "gold rush", moves to California and joins numerous gold diggers. True, even then his first articles, essays and humorous stories periodically appeared in the provincial newspapers.

In 1862, he conceived a trip to Palestine. According to the researchers of his work, at that time he had already joined the Masonic lodge " Polar Star” and this trip was a kind of creative business trip. In 1864 he returned to America, settled in San Francisco and began to write immediately for several fairly large newspapers and magazines. The first success came to him in 1865, after the publication of the satirical essay "The famous jumping frog from Calaveras."

Then, in 1867, Mark Twain makes another fascinating journey through Europe, visits Greece, France, Turkey, stops by the Crimea and Odessa. The result of this trip is a collection of travel essays, "Simples Abroad", which Mark Twain publishes in 1869. The writer, with great humor and irony, spoke about his foreign travels and wittily showed how ridiculous his fellow citizens outside the United States can behave. The book immediately became a real bestseller. At the same time, Mark begins to give his famous public lectures. He has always been a great speaker. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the audience at Twain's performances simply sobbed with laughter.

By 1670, the name of Mark Twain is already known to all of America. He is a successful and sought-after journalist and writer. Mark marries Olivia Langdon and the young family moves to the city of Buffalo, located in the suburbs of New York. The works of Mark Twain of this period, sharp and topical, have not only many admirers, but also opponents. Mark Twain, at times, does not choose expressions and rather sharply criticizes both the American way of life and the American political and economic system. At this time, several collections were published: "Tempered" (1871), "The Gilded Age" (1873). The most notable book of this period can be considered a collection of stories "Life on the Mississippi", which was published in 1883. Mark Twain not only writes a lot, but also leads a large social activities. And in America, and in England, and in other European countries his lectures are a huge success. Among his fans are not only ordinary people, but also many prominent public figures, writers and artists. A brilliant physicist, a student of Einstein, Nikola Tesla, with whom Mark Twain is very close friends, is also fond of his work.

In 1876, Mark Twain published a novel that immediately puts his name on the list of major American writers, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This wise, witty and philosophical book is still a desktop not only for all girls and boys, but also for many adults. Four years later, she releases her second novel, The Prince and the Pauper, which is also a great success.

But, perhaps, a work that simply turned American literature upside down and very accurately defined Political Views writer, was the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", which was published in 1884. Mark Twain had no doubt that modern world built on the principles of inequality. He believed that in a "democratic" American society, the rights of ordinary people are infringed upon and that the vaunted American "freedom of speech" is a soap bubble that bursts at the slightest touch. These ideas of equality, freedom, tolerance, without which true democracy is impossible, run like a red thread through all his works related to mature and late periods creativity, and become at the forefront of the novel about the adventures of a small, impoverished and defenseless boy Huckleberry.

The writer's political principles were also reflected in his keynote speech "The Knights of Labor - A New Dynasty", which he delivered in 1886 at the Monday Night Club. This speech was translated into many languages ​​and in many ways supported those revolutionary sentiments that were already in the air around the world at the end of the 19th century.

No less than politics, Mark Twain was interested in history at this time. In 1886, he published the grotesque novel A Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which also contains a lot of attacks on American society. In fact, this is the last significant work of the writer.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a black streak begins in the life of Mark Twain. His adored wife Olivia dies, three of his four children tragically pass away, the publishing house in which he has invested his whole soul goes bankrupt. Mark Twain dives into deep depression, almost never leaves the house and does not communicate with people. He continues to write, but only pessimistic works filled with sadness and pain come out from under his pen: “The Deal with Satan” (1904), “Eve's Diary” (1905), “The Mysterious Stranger” (published posthumously in 1916). Mark Twain begins to immerse himself in mysticism and seeks true meaning life in religion. No wonder the hero of his latest books is Satan himself, who reigns supreme in this world.

Mark Twain's health finally deteriorated when in 1909 he lost his close friend, oil magnate Henry Rogers. On April 21, 1910, Mark Twain died at home from an attack of angina pectoris. America has lost another great son, citizen and writer.

Twain's Major Achievements

• "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876)
• "The Prince and the Pauper" (1881)
• "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884)
• "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1889)
• "Simples Abroad" (1869)
• "Hardened" (1871)
• "Life on the Mississippi" (1883)

Important dates in Twain's biography

• 1847 - father's death
• 1862 travel to Palestine
• 1865 - the first essay "The famous galloping frog from Calaveras" 1867 - travel through Europe
• 1869 - "Simples abroad"
• 1870 - married to Olivia Langdon
• 1884 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• Mark Twain was born the year that Halley's comet hit the earth. The writer himself attached great importance to this fact.
• Mark Twain was the first writer to type his works on a typewriter.
• Mark Twain loved billiards and often gambled
• In honor of Mark Twain, the Americans named the crater on Mercury