FACTS ABOUT MARK TWAIN
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." -Mark Twain
Introduction
My name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but most people know me by the name Mark Twain. I used the name Mark Twain to write my books. Mark Twain is a boating term that means 12 feet deep. The water had to be 12 feet deep for a steamboat to travel safely. I was born in 1835, the year of Halley's Comet, which appears once every 76 years. My mother hoped it was a good sign. I was so small she thought I might not live! In school I struggled to pay attention. Even though I did not pay attention in school I grew up to be one of the most famous story tellers on earth. As Halley's Comet was coming back into view in 1910, I died.
Family
Most of my family died before me. My brother was only 19 when he died in a boiler accident, along with about 150 other people. I was married to wonderful woman named Livy. We had a baby boy named Langdon, but he was very sick. We then had a daughter named Susy. Sadly, Langdon died after Susy was born. We had two more daughters named Clara and Jean. Livy, Susy, and Jean all died before me.
Work & Experiences
I started working at the age of 12 as a printer's apprentice. I was an inventor, and even made a history trivia game. I also worked as a steamboat pilot before being a writer. I gave lectures about important things that also might be in my stories. I lived during the Civil War, while Abraham Lincoln was president. I came from a poor town, but I bankrupted my family by investing in a paige typesetter, and then fought his way back to wealth. I also have traveled the world to give lectures.
Most Famous Stories
I was born in Missouri, and my most famous stories take place in Missouri. I wrote the Adventures of Tom Sawyer about a troublemaker boy who lives in Missouri in the years of the Civil War. Tom is mischievous and tricks kids into painting a fence. He even gets them to pay him for letting them do it. I also wrote Huckleberry Finn, about Tom Sawyer's best friend. He helps a run way slave escape to freedom along the Mississippi river. I like to mix facts with humor. I am known for my sense of humor. I wrote bad grammar and slang, the way people really talked. I was the first author to write in dialect (local language), which some people didn't like.
Controversy & Influence
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two of the most banned books of all time, and they are still banned in some schools and libraries today. Some librarians didn't keep my books because they thought it was "trash" because I wrote a lot of bad words and I wrote in dialect. Dialect means I wrote the way people really talk, like "ain't" or "foolin." People also didn't like that I wrote about a boy who helped a black slave escape to freedom. But I am now considered one of the greatest American authors of all time.
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please." -Mark Twain
Introduction
My name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but most people know me by the name Mark Twain. I used the name Mark Twain to write my books. Mark Twain is a boating term that means 12 feet deep. The water had to be 12 feet deep for a steamboat to travel safely. I was born in 1835, the year of Halley's Comet, which appears once every 76 years. My mother hoped it was a good sign. I was so small she thought I might not live! In school I struggled to pay attention. Even though I did not pay attention in school I grew up to be one of the most famous story tellers on earth. As Halley's Comet was coming back into view in 1910, I died.
Family
Most of my family died before me. My brother was only 19 when he died in a boiler accident, along with about 150 other people. I was married to wonderful woman named Livy. We had a baby boy named Langdon, but he was very sick. We then had a daughter named Susy. Sadly, Langdon died after Susy was born. We had two more daughters named Clara and Jean. Livy, Susy, and Jean all died before me.
Work & Experiences
I started working at the age of 12 as a printer's apprentice. I was an inventor, and even made a history trivia game. I also worked as a steamboat pilot before being a writer. I gave lectures about important things that also might be in my stories. I lived during the Civil War, while Abraham Lincoln was president. I came from a poor town, but I bankrupted my family by investing in a paige typesetter, and then fought his way back to wealth. I also have traveled the world to give lectures.
Most Famous Stories
I was born in Missouri, and my most famous stories take place in Missouri. I wrote the Adventures of Tom Sawyer about a troublemaker boy who lives in Missouri in the years of the Civil War. Tom is mischievous and tricks kids into painting a fence. He even gets them to pay him for letting them do it. I also wrote Huckleberry Finn, about Tom Sawyer's best friend. He helps a run way slave escape to freedom along the Mississippi river. I like to mix facts with humor. I am known for my sense of humor. I wrote bad grammar and slang, the way people really talked. I was the first author to write in dialect (local language), which some people didn't like.
Controversy & Influence
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two of the most banned books of all time, and they are still banned in some schools and libraries today. Some librarians didn't keep my books because they thought it was "trash" because I wrote a lot of bad words and I wrote in dialect. Dialect means I wrote the way people really talk, like "ain't" or "foolin." People also didn't like that I wrote about a boy who helped a black slave escape to freedom. But I am now considered one of the greatest American authors of all time.