Mark Twain timeline

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) Born

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, popularly known as Mark Twain, was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri and spent his childhood in nearby... Read more

John Clemens (Mark Twain's Father) Dies

When Twain was four, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, a port town on the Mississippi River that served as the inspiration for the fictional... Read more

Mark Twain Takes Work as Printer

The next year, he became a printer's apprentice. In 1851, he began working as a typesetter and contributor of articles and humorous sketches for... Read more

Mark Twain Begins Two-Year Apprenticeship to Become a River Pilot

On a voyage to New Orleans down the Mississippi, the steamboat pilot, Horace E. Bixby, inspired Twain to pursue a career as a steamboat pilot; it... Read more

Henry Clemens (Mark Twain's Brother) Dies While Working on Steamboat

While training, Samuel convinced his younger brother Henry to work with him. Henry was killed on June 21, 1858, when the steamboat he was working... Read more

Mark Twain Fails as a Miner and Works as a Reporter

1862 Twain Travels West In an adventure later chronicled in the book Roughing It, Twain travels to Nevada with his brother Orion, who had been... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

Twain then moved to San Francisco, California in 1864, where he continued working as a journalist. He met other writers, such as Bret Harte,... Read more

Mark Twain attends "Blind Tom Wiggins" performance

Some archangel, cast out of upper Heaven like another Satan, inhabits this coarse casket; and he comforts himself and makes his prison beautiful... Read more

Mark Twain's First Book "The Innocents Abroad" is Published

The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress was published by American author Mark Twain in 1869. The travel literature chronicles Twain's... Read more

Mark Twain Marries Olivia "Livy" Langdon

Charles Langdon showed a picture of his sister, Olivia, to Twain; Twain claimed to have fallen in love at first sight. The two met in 1868, were... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "Roughing It"

Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870–71 and... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today"

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today is an 1873 novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner that satirizes greed and political corruption in... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the antebellum South, in the town of "St... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (often referred to as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or shortened to Huckleberry Finn or simply Huck Finn) is a... Read more

Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" Is Published

PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. Some early editions are entitled A Yankee... Read more

Nikola Tesla becomes a citizen of the United States

On 30 July 1891, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States at the age of 35. Tesla established his 35 South Fifth Avenue laboratory in... Read more

Mark Twain Publishes "Pudd'nhead Wilson"

Pudd'nhead Wilson is an ironic novel by Mark Twain. It was serialized in The Century Magazine (1893-4), before being published as a novel in... Read more

Livy Clemens (Mark Twain's Wife) Dies

Olivia and Samuel moved to Buffalo, New York, where they lived in a house purchased for them by Olivia’s father Jervis. Life was difficult for them... Read more

Mark Twain Forms a Club of Young Girls Called the Angelfish Club

1908 Angelfish Club Twain moves into a house in Connecticut that he names Stormfield. Lonely and missing his wife and daughters, he forms a club... Read more

Mark Twain Dies

Samuel L. Clemens died on April 21 alter a brief illness at the age of seventy-four. A great career, characteristically American, was then closed.... Read more

Mark Twain's Complete Autobiography Published 100 Years After His Death

Mark Twain completed his autobiography – which he called "a complete and purposed jumble" – more than a century ago. But he told his publishers... Read more