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Samuel L. Clemens, who would later go by the name of Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835 in the small town of Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child in a struggling family, and was sickly for much of his early life.
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When Twain was 4 years old, his family's economic situation forced them to move to the town of Hannibal, along the Mississippi River. His childhood in Hannibal would later serve as the inspiration for the adventures presented in his novels.
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In 1859, Twain became a licensed steamboat captain. He enjoyed the profession and the income that came with it. However, his career ended in April 1861, when the beginning of the Civil War stopped all commercial traffic on the river.
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In 1861, Twain's brother became governor of the Nevada territory. Twain went with him and prospected for gold and silver, with little success. Eventually, seeing the need for a real job, he began working as a reporter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.
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Twain's short story 'Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog' earned him nationwide fame, and launched his future career as a writer.
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After months of traveling abroad, Mark Twain moved to the East Coast in hopes of enhancing his wealth and social status. There he met Olivia Langdon, and the two married in February of 1870. They settled down in Hartford, Connecticut, and had four children together.
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While living in Hartford, Twain published some of his best known works, including the novels 'Roughing It' and 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.' In 1884, Twain published his magnum opus, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' widely regarded as one of the finest examples of American literature.
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In his later years, Twain would develop a cynical outlook on life, which could be seen in his writing at the time. He never succeeded in business, and the deaths of his wife and three of his children left him an embittered man. Mark Twain died at the age of 74 on April 21, 1910.
