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Birth
Samuel Clemens was born in a small town in Missouri. -
Dad Died
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Compromise of 1850
The Great Compromiser, strikes again stating that states should have popular sovereignty between whether or not States are free or enslaved. -
Twain Takes Work as Printer
At the age of 15, Samuel leaves school and goes to work as a printer in Hannibal. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A well written literary device for slavery, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 (10 Stat. 277) created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the neighboring towns of Missouri between 1854 and 1858. At the heart of the conflict was the question of whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free state or slave state. As such, Bleeding Kansas was a proxy war between Northerners and Southerners over the issue of slavery -
Dred Scott Case
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Apprentice River Pilot
Samuel Clemens begins a successful two-year apprenticeship 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. -
Death of Twain's Brother
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, devastated by his brother's death, feels responsible for it for the rest of his life. -
Fully Licenced Pilot
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John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
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Presidential Election
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American Civil War
Abraham Lincoln, President at the time, was called upon Fort Sumter stating that confedrates were attacking becoming the start of the Civil War -
Battle of Fort Sumter
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Battle of Bull Run
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Battle of Antietam
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Emancipation Proclamation
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The Pen name Mark Twain was created
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Battle of Gettysburg
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Battle of Vicksburg
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Twain in California
Twain travels to northern California, visiting Calavaras County before settling in San Francisco. -
13th Ammendment
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Reconstruction
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Twain Meets Future Wife
Twain is introduced to Olivia "Livy" Langdon, the sister of a friend. He is instantly smitten. -
14th Ammmendment
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The Innocents Abroad Published
Mark Twain's first book, The Innocents Abroad, becomes a bestseller. -
15th Ammendment
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Twain Weds, Fathers First Child
Twain marries Olivia Langdon, who becomes an important editor of his work. Their son Langdon is born later that year. -
Clara Clemens Born
Daughter Clara is born, the only one of Twain's children to outlive her father. -
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain writes his first novel about his childhood, in Hannibal, and his secret admirer Becky Thatcher. -
Compromise of 1877
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Jean Clemens Born
Livy Clemens gives birth to the couple's fourth and final child, a daughter named Jean. -
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain writes his second most famous book, which is about -
Twain in Europe
His finances in shambles following a series of poor business decisions, Twain moves his family from Hartford to Europe for cheaper living. -
Death of Susy Clemens
Twain's 24-year-old daughter Susy dies of meningitis in the U.S. while Twain is lecturing in Europe. Twain, who was particularly close to his oldest daughter, is devastated. He never fully recovers from her death, which marks the end of his most successful period as a writer. -
Death of Jean Clemens
Twain's youngest daughter Jean Clemens dies. -
Death
Mark Twain died in Redding, Conneticut. He is known by his pen name and his wonderful storytelling adventures. Despite his wonderful works of literature he fell into bankcruptcy and died, however very happy. “I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”
