Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 in a small town named Florida, Mo. Twain’s birth given name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens and he was the sixth child in the Clemens family. In his early years, Twain was kept inside due to his poor health conditions. He was cured of his conditions by age nine and was able to explore the outdoors. At age 12 his father passed away and he decided to leave school and become a printer’s apprentice. After two years, Twain began to work for his brother newspaper as a printer and editorial assistant. This was where he found out he enjoyed writing. Twain turned 17 and left his home for St. Louis and a printing job while he was in St. Louis, Twain took a job as a river pilot's apprentice. He became a licensed river pilot in 1858. The name Mark Twain is a river term which means that is safe to navigate. The Civil War brought the river trade to an end and Twain set out to work as a newspaper reporter. He worked for several different newspapers in the United States. The first time Twain gained the public’s attention was with his story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavarus County”. It appeared in the New York Saturday Press in November of 1865. His first book was published in 1869 and was titled, “The Innocents Abroad”. He continued on to have, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” between 1876 and 1885. Twain wrote a total of 28 books and multiple short stories, letters and sketches. Mark Twain passed away on April 21, 1910 and is still considered a talented writer today. There is a museum open to the public in his childhood hometown. There is a County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee every third weekend in May in Calavarus County in honor of Mark Twain. Mark Twain’s writings remain popular in American culture and used in most English classes today.
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