Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835–1910) was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American novelist, journalist, and humorist renowned for his wit and observations of American life. Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, he grew up in Hannibal, a town on the Mississippi River that inspired the settings and characters of his most famous novels. Before achieving literary success, he worked as a printer, riverboat pilot, and newspaper reporter. PBS

Twain combined humor, regional speech, and social criticism in works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Life on the Mississippi. His writing explored childhood, freedom, prejudice, and human hypocrisy, earning him a lasting place in American literature. He died on April 21, 1910, at age 74. The Mark Twain House & Museum