Henry Clemens, Twain's youngest brother, dies in steamboat explosion, leaving Twain feeling guilty for encouraging Henry to become a boat pilot
Civil War breaks out, ending Twain's steamboat career
Twain travels to Nevada with brother Orion and eventually becomes reporter for the Virginia City Daily Territorial Enterprise
Twain travels to California, passing through Calaveras County before settling in San Francisco
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is published in the New York Saturday Press
Twain gives his first public lecture, and it's very well-received
Twain meets his future wife, Olivia Langdon, the sister of a friend, and falls head-over-heels
Twain's first book, The Innocent Abroad, is published and goes on to become a best-seller
Twain marries Olivia Langdon, and their first son, Langdon, is born
Twain and family move to Connecticut, where their daughter is born, but their son dies of diptheria
Twain's second book, The Gilded Age, is published, and his very successful self-pasting scrabook comes out as well
Twain's second daughter and third child is born
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is published
Twain's third daughter and fourth, and final, child is born
Twain's memoir of hi time as a steamboat pilot, Life on the Mississippi, is published
Twain founds his own publishing company, , Charles L. Webster & Co, named after his nephew and co-owner
Mark Twain's greatest fiction and non-fiction accomplishments are published, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and a biography of President Ulysses S. Grant
Twain publishes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which gets slammed by the critics
Twain moves to Europe for cheaper living after poor decisions leave him and his family in poverty
Twain's last novel, Pudd'nhead Wilson, is published, and his finances all but crumble
Twain goes on a lecture tour to pay back the money he owes
Twain's oldest daughter dies of meningitis, devastating Twain and essentially ending his successful writing career
Twain's wife loses her battle with a two-year illness, prompting Twain to move to New York and begin his autobiography
Twain's youngest daughter is institutionalized for her severe epilepsy, and his bigrapher moves in with him to collect material
Twain, missing his wife and daughters, forms the Angelfish Club, a group of young girls that meet at his house regularly to play cards
Twain's youngest daughter dies
Mark Twain dies at age 74 in his home in Connecticut