-
Mark Twain is born
Mark Twain is born on November 30th, 1835 in Florida. -
Twain's Family Moves
Mark Twain and his family move to a small riverbank town in Missouri called Hannibal. It is here where Twain idolizes riverboat pilots, and wants to become one himself. (Exact date of move unknown) -
Mark Twain becomes an apprentice river boat pilot
Mark Twain obtains a two year apprenticeship, so he can become a full fledged riverboat pilot. It is here where he learns the phrase, "mark twain", which refers to the safe depth a riverboat can travel. He soon choses "Mark Twain" as his pen name. (Exact date of this event is unknown) -
Mark's brother dies
Twain's younger brother, Henry, dies when the steamboat he was training on, the Pennsylvania, explodes. Twain had recently encouraged Henry to train as a riverboat pilot, and when Henry died, Twain felt responsible for his death. -
The Civil War starts
When the Civil War started, all trade along the Mississippi River was stopped. This effectively ended Mark Twain's riverboating career. (exact date of his retirement from riverboating is unknown) -
Period: to
Mark Twain travels west, and eventually settles in San Francisco
Mark Twain travels to the West with his brother Orion, and settles in Nevada for a short while. Twain tries other jobs such as mining, but it does not work out. Twain then travels to Northern California, where he settles in San Francisco. (Exact days of when these events happened are unknown. Only the years are given) -
"Jumping Frog" is published
Mark Twain's short story, "Jumping Frog", is published in the New York Saturday Press. It becomes very popular, and proves Twain as a writer. -
Mark Twain meets his future wife
Twain meets Olivia Langdon, he falls in love immediately. -
"The Innocents Abroad" is published
Twain's first book is published, and it became a bestselling hit. (exact date of publication unknown, the year is known however) -
Mark Twain marries Olivia Langdon, and their first child is born the same year
Mark Twain marries Olivia Langdon in 1870, and their first child is born later that year. (exact wedding date unknown) -
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is published
Mark Twain successfully publishes his book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". (yet again, exact publication date is unknown) -
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and Twain's biography of Ulysses S. Grant are published
Twain publishes his fifth book, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in 1885, and it becomes very popular. He also released a biography of Ulysses S. Grant the same year. -
Mark Twain and his family move to Europe
After making some bad decisions in spending his money, Mark Twain moves his family to Europe so they can pay less for living. (exact date unknown) -
Mark's last novel is published
"Pudd'n'head Wilson" is published. This would be Twain's last novel ever written. Twain finds himself practically bankrupt, and a close friend of his had to take over his finances so he wouldn't go bankrupt. -
Susy Clemens dies
Twains daughter, Susy Clemens, dies of meningitis in the US while Twain is on his lecturing tour to make some money. Twain was very close to Susy, and gets hit hard by her death. He never fully recovered from her death, and her death is considered to be when his period of successful writing ended. -
Olivia Langdon dies
6 years after Susy died, Olivia Langdon, Twain's wife, begins to get sick. Her health starts to worsen, and doctors advise Twain and her to move to Italy where there was a warmer climate. Sadly, on June 5th, 1904, Twain's wife of 34 years died of heart failure. Following her death, Mark decided to start working on his autobiography. -
The Angelfish Club is created
With Twain's youngest daugher in an institution, another dead, and his wife dead as well, Mark found himself lonely. He then created a club called "the Angelfish Club" which was a group young women .that would come over to Twain's house to play cards with him. -
Jean Clemens dies
During a Christmas visit to her father's estate, Jean was found dead in the bathtub. It is presumed that she had a seizure in the bath, and drowned. -
Mark Twain dies
On April 21st, 1910, Mark Twain died of a heart attack on his estate. The interesting thing, is that Twain predicted that he would die when Halley's Comet would come around again. He himself said that he came in with the comet, and that he would die with it. -
Jean Clemens is institutionalized
Mark's youngest daughter, Jean, is institutionalized due to her severe epilepsy.
