Mark Twain

Florida Missouri was the town where Samuel L. Clemens was born on November 30, 1835. He penned many classic novels including, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain also worked as a pilot on the Mississippi, lecturer, journalist and inventor. He died on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut.
Mark Twain is a national treasure with his writing that explored the American soul. His mother inspired Twain's love of stories with her nightly storytelling and tenderhearted ways. When his father died in 1847 the family became destitute and this shaped Twain's career. Hannibal Missouri where Twain lived was the setting of several of his novels. He wrote of Hannibal as a place of sunlight and nests of poverty and boredom. When Twain was 12 he quit school and was an apprentice printer at the Hannibal Courier. At the age of 15 Twain became a printer and writer at the Hannibal Western Union.
In 1857 Clemens (Twain) began learning how to pilot a steamboat on the Mississippi. He earned his license by 1859 and found regular employment. His career paid well and was exciting. The outbreak of the Civil War, however cut short his career. He headed out west and lived there for five years. He prospected for silver and gold and worked as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise where he changed his name to Mark Twain. In 1869 a trip to Europe gave him The Innocents Abroad, a best seller.
He married Olivia Langond in 1870, they moved to Buffalo New York and had four children. In 1883 he published Life on the Mississippi and in 1881 The Prince and the Pauper. He wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court in 1889 and in 1894 the Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson. He wrote a biography of Ulysses S. Grant and a study of Joan of Arc. Toward the end of his life Twain became a depressed and bitter old man and had a difficult time finishing his novels.