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Samuel Langhorne Clemens is born in Florida, Missouri. His parents John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens sixth child.
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The Clemens family moves to Hannibal, Missouri. This is where Twain grew up and fell in love with the MIssissippi river and all the exciting things it had to offer such as steam boats which he found a very high intrest in.
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Samuel's father John Clemens dies, leaving the family with hardships and financial difficulties,
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At 15, Samuel leaves school and goes to work as a printer for his brother.
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Samuel Clemens begins an apprenticeship for 2 years to become a licensed river pilot. He learns the lingo of the trade, including "mark twain," a phrase that refers to the river depth at which a boat is safe to navigate. He soon adopts it as his pen name.
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Twain's youngest brother Henry is killed tragically at the age of 20 in an explosion on the steamboat Pennsylvania. Henry had been training to become a steamboat pilot, at Twain's encouragement. Twain was crushed by his brother's death, feels responsible for it for the rest of his life.
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The Civil War breaks out. Trade on the Mississippi River is stopped ending Twain's steamboat career. Twain spends two weeks training in a volunteer Confederate militia before it disbands.
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Twain travels to northern California, visiting Calavaras County before settling in San Francisco.
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The short story "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (later "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County") appears in the New York Press. The story is popular and increases Twain's profile as a writer.
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Twain is introduced to Olivia "Livy" Langdon, the sister of a friend.
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Mark Twain's first book, The Innocents Abroad, becomes a bestseller.
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"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is published
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Twain publishes Life on the Mississippi, his tribute of his years as a steamboat pilot.
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Twain founds his own publishing company, Charles L. Webster & Co. It turns out to be a bad financial move and the company's struggles eventually ruin his family's finances.
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In less than a year, Twain publishes both his greatest fiction and non-fiction works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a biography of President Ulysses S. Grant.
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Poor business decisions leave him with financial struggles, Twain moves his family from Hartford Europe for cheaper living.
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Twain's wife Livy dies after a serious illness. After his wife's dies, Twain moves to New York City and begins writing an autobiography.
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Mark Twain dies at the age of 74 at his home in Redding, Connecticut.