The famous writer Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was born on November 30, 1835 in an American large family. His parents were John and Jane Clemens, natives of Missouri. Samuel was the sixth child; besides him, there were four more boys and two girls in the family.

But not all children were able to survive the difficult years; three of them died at an early age. When Sam was four years old, the Clemens family moved to the city of Hannibal in search of a better life. Later, this city with its funny inhabitants and Samuel's funny adventures in it will be reflected in famous work writer of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.


From a young age, Mark Twain was attracted to the water element; he could sit on the river bank for a long time and look at the waves; he even drowned several times, but was safely rescued. He was especially interested in steamships; Sam dreamed that when he grew up, he would become a sailor and sail on his own ship. It was thanks to this passion that the writer’s pseudonym was chosen - mark twain, which translated means “deep water”, literally “measure two”.

In Hannibal, Samuel met Tom Blankenship, the son of an old tramp and alcoholic living in a hut near the river. They became best friends, over time, a whole company of the same adventure lovers gathered. Tom became the prototype for Huckleberry Finn, the main character of many of the author's popular children's books.

When Sam was 12 years old, his father died suddenly of pneumonia. Shortly before his death, John Clemens took on debts close friend, but was never able to pay them off in full. Samuel was forced to look for work to help his family. His older brother Orion got him a job as a typesetter at a local newspaper printing house. Sam tried to publish his own poems and articles in the newspaper, but at first this only irritated Orion, in addition to the local press, young writer sent his first works to other editors, where they were willingly published.

Youth and early career

In 1857, Mark Twain became a pilot's apprentice, and two years later received his own license to drive a ship. However, due to the civil war that broke out in 1861, he was forced to leave his favorite business and look for a new job. In the same year, Mark Twain travels with his brother Orion west to Nevada. There he worked for almost a year in the silver mines in a mining town, hoping to get rich, but luck was not on his side.

In 1862, Twain got a job at the editorial office of a local newspaper, where he used his creative pseudonym for the first time. A few years later, his works and articles were published in several publications. In 1865, Mark Twain gained fame; his humoresque “The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras” became popular throughout America, and many publishers published it several times.

At the height of his writing career, Mark Twain traveled a lot, visited England, Australia, Africa and even Odessa, and traveled all over Europe. During these travels, he sent letters to his hometown, which were then published in the newspaper. Later, these letters will become the basis for the book “Innocents Abroad,” which was the writer’s first serious creation. It was published in 1869 and brought Twain the great success he deserved.

At the height of his fame from the publication of his first book, Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a successful entrepreneur. But first, the writer had to try hard to win over Olivia’s parents. In 1870 they became engaged. Mark Twain loved his wife madly and considered her perfect and ideal woman, took care of her and never criticized her. Olivia considered him an eternal boy who would never grow up. Over 30 years of marriage, they had four children.

In 1871, Mark Twain and his wife moved to Hartford, where he spent the most peaceful and happy years own life. In this city, he founded his own publishing company, which began to generate good income. During these years, Mark Twain himself became interested in satire, writing long stories ridiculing the vices of American society.

The idea of ​​creating an autobiographical novel had been brewing for a long time, and after several unsuccessful attempts, in two years with short breaks, Mark Twain created “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” The novel is based on the author's childhood memories. But the writer’s most significant contribution to literature is the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Some critics call this work the pinnacle of American literary art, the characters in the novel were so vividly and vividly described.

All his life, Mark Twain was interested in the Middle Ages; he was concerned about some of the issues and problems of those years. In 1882, the writer’s story “The Prince and the Pauper” was published, in which Twain, with great enthusiasm and aplomb, denies the world of social inequality. And in 1889 another one was published historical novel“A Yankee in King Arthur's Court”, which had enough sharp irony and satire on every page.

Mark Twain was personally acquainted with Nikola Tesla; his lively mind was interested in the scientific achievements of our time. They often conducted experiments and experiments in Tesla's laboratory. Some technical details in his novels, for example, about time travel, appeared precisely thanks to close communication with Nikola Tesla.

The writer’s contemporaries also noted his addiction to pipe smoking. According to many, there was often such thick tobacco smoke in Twain’s office that it was like a fog, it was impossible to see anything in it.

In 1904, Olivia, Twain's beloved wife, died suddenly. Even in her youth, having fallen unsuccessfully on ice, she became disabled, and with age her condition only worsened. The writer experienced the loss of his wife very hard, his physical and mental health deteriorated. He didn't want to live without his beloved Olivia. After the death of his wife, Mark Twain completely stopped communicating with the female sex, although there were contenders for his heart, he remained faithful to his wife. In addition, three of his children tragically died. All these sad events led to the writer becoming severely depressed. The works published at the end of his life were slightly different in genre from the previous ones; poisonous irony and even sarcasm or, conversely, bitterness and fatigue were noticeable in them. Mark Twain's financial situation also worsened - his publishing company, in which he had invested most of his funds, collapsed.

One of the most famous and readable works Mark Twain One of the most famous and widely read works by Mark Twain, “The Prince and the Pauper,” is the adventures of two poor boys and a prince, who temporarily switched their roles.

In the image of Huck in his book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Mark Twain tried to convey the image of a carefree and noble boy, whose low social status does not in any way prevent him from enjoying life.

Some of the writer’s works never saw the light of day; many manuscripts were rejected due to their harsh content. For example, Twain loved to write all sorts of essays and poems with an erotic slant, but such creations were distributed only in a narrow circle of close people. Most famous work in this genre is the essay “1601: Fireside Chats,” which deals with the Queen of England and her subjects.

End life path
Mark Twain passed away in April 1910, dying of angina. Shortly before his death, he predicted to himself that he had a year to live.

In the city of Hannibal, the house in which little Samuel grew up, those caves that he carefully explored with his friends, are still preserved; these places have become popular for tourists in the city. The house in which he lived for 20 years in Hartford is now the Mark Twain Museum, and is named a national treasure in American history.

Mark Twain, real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, USA - died April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut, USA. American writer, journalist and public figure.

His work covers many genres - humor, satire, philosophical fiction, journalism and others, and in all these genres he invariably takes the position of a humanist and democrat.

William Faulkner wrote that Mark Twain was “the first truly American writer, and we have all been his heirs ever since,” and Ernest Hemingway believed that all modern American literature came from one book by Mark Twain, called “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” " Of the Russian writers, Mark Twain was especially warmly spoken of by.

Clemens claimed that the pseudonym "Mark Twain" was taken by him in his youth from river navigation terms. Then he was an assistant pilot on the Mississippi, and the cry of “mark twain” (literally - “mark two”) meant that, according to the mark on the lotline, the minimum depth suitable for the passage of river vessels had been reached - 2 fathoms (about 3 .7 m).

However, there is a version about the literary origin of this pseudonym: in 1861, Vanity Fair magazine published humorous story Artemus Ward's "North Star" is about three sailors, one of whom was named Mark Twain. Samuel was very fond of the humorous section of this magazine and read Ward's works in his first stand-up performances.

In addition to “Mark Twain,” Clemens once signed in 1896 as “Sieur Louis de Conte” (French: Sieur Louis de Conte) - under this name he published his novel “Personal Memoirs of Joan of Arc of Sieur Louis de Conte, her page and secretary."

Samuel Clemens born November 30, 1835 in a small town in Florida (Missouri, USA). He later joked that being born increased its population by one percent. He was the third of four surviving children of John and Jane Clemens. When Sam was still a child, the family was looking for better life moved to the city of Hannibal (in the same place, in Missouri). It was this city and its inhabitants that were later described by Mark Twain in his famous works, especially in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Clemens's father died of pneumonia in 1847, leaving him with many debts. The eldest son, Orion, soon began publishing a newspaper, and Sam began to contribute to it as a typesetter and sometimes as an article writer. Some of the liveliest and most controversial articles the newspapers came out from the pen of the younger brother - usually when Orion was away. Sam himself also occasionally traveled to St. Louis and New York.

A profession that, according to Clemens himself, he would have been engaged in all his life if the Civil War had not put an end to private shipping in 1861. So Clemens was forced to look for another job.

Twain entered Freemasonry at North Star Lodge No. 79 in St. Louis on May 22, 1861. During one of his travels, he sent a “gavel” from Palestine to his lodge, to which was attached a letter in a humorous spirit. Twain informed his brothers that “The handle of the hammer was carved by Brother Clemens from the trunk of a cedar of Lebanon, planted in due time by Brother Geoffrey of Bouillon near the walls of Jerusalem.”

After a short acquaintance with the people's militia (he colorfully described this experience in 1885), Clemens left the war west in July 1861. Then his brother Orion was offered the position of secretary to the governor of the Nevada Territory. Sam and Orion traveled for two weeks across the prairies in a stagecoach to a Virginia mining town where silver was being mined in Nevada.

The experience of living in the Western United States shaped Twain as a writer and formed the basis of his second book. In Nevada, hoping to get rich, Sam Clemens became a miner and began mining for silver. He had to live for a long time in a camp with other miners - a lifestyle he later described in literature.

But Clemens could not become a successful prospector; he had to leave silver mining and get a job at the Territorial Enterprise newspaper there, in Virginia. In this newspaper he first used the pseudonym "Mark Twain".

In 1864, he moved to San Francisco, where he began writing for several newspapers at the same time.

In 1865, the first person came to Twain literary success, his humorous story "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras" was reprinted nationwide and entitled " best work humorous literature created in America up to this point."

In the spring of 1866, Twain was sent by the Sacramento Union newspaper to Hawaii. As the journey progressed, he had to write letters about his adventures.

Upon returning to San Francisco, these letters were a resounding success. Colonel John McComb, publisher of the Alta California newspaper, invited Twain to tour the state giving fascinating lectures. The lectures immediately became wildly popular, and Twain traveled throughout the state, entertaining the public and collecting a dollar from each listener.

Twain achieved his first success as a writer on another journey. In 1867, he begged Colonel McComb to sponsor his trip to Europe and the Middle East. In June, As a correspondent for Alta California and the New York Tribune, Twain traveled to Europe on the Quaker City.. In August, he also visited Odessa, Yalta and Sevastopol (the “Odessa Bulletin” of August 24, 1867 contains the “Address” of American tourists, written by Twain). As part of the ship's delegation, Mark Twain visited the residence of the Russian Emperor in Livadia.

Letters written by Twain during his travels through Europe and Asia were sent to his editor and published in the newspaper, and later formed the basis of the book "Simps Abroad". The book was published in 1869, distributed by subscription and was a huge success. Until the very end of his life, many knew Twain precisely as the author of “Simps Abroad.” During his writing career, Twain had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

In 1870, at the height of the success of Simpletons Abroad, Twain married Olivia Langdon and moved to Buffalo, New York. From there he moved to Hartford (Connecticut). During this period he often lectured in the USA and England. Then he began to write sharp satire, sharply criticizing American society and politicians, this is especially noticeable in the collection "Life on the Mississippi", written in 1883.

One of the things that inspired Mark Twain was the writing style of John Ross Brown.

Twain's greatest contribution to American and world literature is the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Also very popular "Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "Prince and the Pauper", "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and collection autobiographical stories "Life on the Mississippi".

Mark Twain began his career with unpretentious humorous couplets, and ended with sketches of human morals full of subtle irony, sharply satirical pamphlets on socio-political topics and philosophically deep and, at the same time, very pessimistic reflections on the fate of civilization.

Many public appearances and lectures have been lost or not recorded. individual works and the letters were banned from publication by the author himself during his lifetime and for decades after his death.

Twain was an excellent speaker. Having gained recognition and fame, Mark Twain devoted a lot of time to searching for young literary talents and helping them break through, using his influence and the publishing company he acquired.

Twain was passionate about science and scientific problems. He was very friendly with, they spent a lot of time together in Tesla's laboratory. In his work “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,” Twain introduced time travel, as a result of which many modern technologies were introduced in England during the time of King Arthur.

The technical details given in the novel indicate that Twain was well acquainted with the achievements of contemporary science.

Mark Twain's other two most famous hobbies were playing billiards and smoking a pipe. Visitors to Twain's house sometimes said that there was such thick tobacco smoke in the writer's office that the owner himself could hardly be seen.

Twain was a prominent figure in the American Anti-Imperial League, which protested the American annexation of the Philippines. In response to these events, in which approximately 600 people died, Twain wrote a pamphlet, The Philippine Incident, but the work was not published until 1924, 14 years after his death.

From time to time, some of Twain's works were banned by American censors. various reasons. This was mainly due to the active civic and social position of the writer. Twain did not publish some works that could offend people's religious feelings at the request of his family. For example, "The Mysterious Stranger" remained unpublished until 1916.

One of Twain's most controversial works was a humorous lecture at a Paris club, published under the title "Reflections on the Science of Onanism". The central idea of ​​the lecture was: “If you have to risk your life on the sexual front, then don’t masturbate too much.” The essay was published only in 1943 in a limited edition of 50 copies. Several more anti-religious works remained unpublished until the 1940s.

Twain himself treated censorship with irony. When the Massachusetts public library decided to retire The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885, Twain wrote to his publisher: "They kicked Huck out of the library as 'slum trash,' and we'll no doubt sell 25,000 more copies because of that.".

In the 2000s, attempts were again made in the United States to ban the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn due to naturalistic descriptions and verbal expressions offensive to blacks. Although Twain was an opponent of racism and imperialism and went much further in his rejection of racism than his contemporaries, many words that were in common use in Mark Twain's time and used by him in the novel do now sound like racial slurs.

В феврале 2011 года в США вышло первое издание книг Марка Твена «Приключения Гекльберри Финна» и «Приключения Тома Сойера», в котором подобные слова и выражения заменены на политкорректные (например, слово «nigger» (негр) заменено по тексту на «slave» (slave)).

Before his death in 1910, he suffered the loss of three of his four children and his wife Olivia. In their later years Twain was deeply depressed, but he could still joke.

In response to an erroneous obituary in the New York Journal, he famously said: “Rumors of my death are somewhat exaggerated”.

Twain's financial situation also shook: his publishing company went bankrupt, he invested a lot of money in a new model of a printing press, which was never put into production. Plagiarists stole the rights to several of his books.

In 1893, Twain was introduced to an oil magnate Henry Rogers, one of the directors of the Standard Oil company. Rogers helped Twain reorganize his financial affairs profitably, and they became close friends. Twain often visited Rogers, they drank and played poker. You could say that Twain even became a member of the family for the Rogers.

Rogers' sudden death in 1909 deeply affected Twain. Although Mark Twain publicly thanked Rogers many times for saving him from financial ruin, it became clear that their friendship was mutually beneficial. Apparently, Twain had a significant influence on softening the tough temper of the oil tycoon, who had the nickname “Cerberus Rogers.” After Rogers' death, his papers showed that his friendship with famous writer made a real philanthropist and philanthropist out of a ruthless miser. During his friendship with Twain, Rogers began to actively support education, organizing educational programs, especially for African Americans and talented people with disabilities.

Twain died on April 21, 1910 from angina pectoris. A year before his death, he said: “I came in 1835 with Halley’s Comet, a year later it comes again, and I expect to leave with it.” And so it happened.

Twain is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.

In the city of Hannibal, Missouri, the house where Twain played as a boy has been preserved, and the caves that he explored as a child and which were later described in the famous “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” are now visited by tourists. Mark Twain's house in Hartford has been turned into his personal museum and declared a national historical treasure in the United States.

A crater on Mercury is named after Twain. The only street in Russia named after Mark Twain is located in Volgograd.

Political Views Mark Twain:

Mark Twain's views on the ideal form of government and political regime can be found by reading his speech “The Knights of Labor - a New Dynasty,” which he delivered on March 22, 1886 in Hartford, at a meeting of the Monday Night Club. This speech, entitled “The New Dynasty,” was first published in September 1957 in New England Quarterly.

Mark Twain took the position that power should belong to the people and the people alone: “The power of one person over others means oppression - invariably and always oppression; perhaps not always conscious, deliberate, deliberate, not always harsh, or heavy, or cruel, or indiscriminate - but one way or another - always oppression in one form or another. Whoever you give power to, it will certainly manifest itself in oppression. Give power to the king of Dahomey - and he will immediately begin to test the accuracy of his brand new rapid-fire rifle on everyone who passes by his palace; people will fall one after another, but neither he nor his courtiers and it won’t even occur to him that he is doing something inappropriate. Give power to the head christian church in Russia - to the emperor - and with one wave of his hand, as if driving away midges, he will send countless young men, mothers with babies in their arms, gray-haired elders and young girls into the unimaginable hell of his Siberia, and he himself will calmly go to breakfast, without even feeling what I just committed a barbarity. Give power to Constantine or Edward IV, or Peter the Great, or Richard III - I could name a hundred more monarchs - and they will kill their closest relatives, after which they will fall asleep perfectly, even without sleeping pills... Give power to anyone - and this the government will oppress".

The first are few - the king, a handful of other overseers and henchmen, and the second are many - these are the peoples of the world: best representatives humanity, working people - those who earn bread with their labor. Twain believed that all the rulers who had so far ruled the world sympathized with and patronized the classes and clans of gilded loafers, clever embezzlers, tireless intriguers, troublemakers, thinking only about their own benefit.

Mark Twain and religion:

Twain's wife, a deeply religious Protestant (Congregationalist), was never able to “convert” her husband, although he tried to avoid sensitive topics during her lifetime. Quite a few of Twain's novels (for example, A Yankee in King Arthur's Court) contain extremely harsh attacks on catholic church. IN last years Twain wrote many stories on religious themes in which he ridiculed the Protestant ethic (for example, “Curious Bessie”).

From posthumously published materials it is clear that Mark Twain was infinitely far from any existing religious denomination. He summed up his views in 1906 in “Reflections on Religion”: "Now let us speak of the true God, the real God, the great God, the highest and supreme God, the true creator of the real universe... - a universe not handcrafted for an astronomical nursery, but sprung into existence in the limitless extent of space at the command of the true God just mentioned, An unimaginably great and majestic God, in comparison with whom all the other gods, swarming in myriads in the pitiful human imagination, are like a swarm of mosquitoes lost in the infinity of the empty sky...

When we explore the countless wonders, splendor, brilliance and perfection of this infinite universe (we now know that the universe is infinite) and are convinced that everything in it, from the blade of grass to the forest giants of California, from the unknown mountain stream to the boundless ocean, from the course of the tides and ebb tides to the majestic movement of the planets, unquestioningly obeys a strict system of precise laws that know no exceptions, we comprehend - we do not assume, we do not conclude, but we comprehend - that God, who with a single thought created this incredible complex world, and with another thought he created the laws that govern him - this God is endowed with limitless power...

Do we know that he is just, gracious, kind, meek, merciful, compassionate? No. We have no evidence that he possesses at least one of these qualities - and at the same time, every day that comes brings us hundreds of thousands of evidence - no, not evidence, but irrefutable evidence - that he does not possess any of them .

Due to his complete absence of any of those qualities that could adorn a god, inspire respect for him, arouse reverence and worship, the real god, the true god, the creator of the vast universe is no different from all the other gods available. Every day he makes it absolutely clear that he is not at all interested in man or other animals - except in order to torture them, destroy them and extract some kind of entertainment from this activity, while doing everything possible to prevent his eternal and unchanging monotony he didn't get tired of it".

Bibliography of Mark Twain:

"The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras", collection of stories (1867)
"The Story of Mamie Grant, Missionary Girl" (1868)
"Innocents Abroad, or the Path of New Pilgrims" (1869)
"The Tempered" (1871), Russian translation under the title "Light" (1959)
The Gilded Age (1873), co-written with C. D. Warner
"Old and New Sketches" (1875), collection of short stories
"Old Times on the Mississippi" (1875)
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876)
"The Prince and the Pauper" (1881)
"Life on the Mississippi" (1883)
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884)
“Knights of Labor - a new dynasty” (1886)
"Letter from a Guardian Angel" (1887), published 1946
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1889)
"Adam's Diary" (1893)
"Simp Wilson" (1894)
“Personal Memoirs of Joan of Arc by Sieur Louis de Comte, Her Page and Secretary” (1896)
"School Hill", left unfinished (1898)
"The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" (1900)
"Deal with Satan" (1904)
"Eve's Diary" (1905)
“Three thousand years among microbes (Biography of a microbe with notes written by the same hand seven thousand years later). Translation from Microbial Mark Twain. 1905" (1905)
"Letters from Earth" (1909)
“No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger. An ancient manuscript found in a jug. Free translation from a jug", remained unfinished (1902-1908)

Mark Twain is an American writer, journalist and public figure. His work is full of sharp humor and satire, but he wrote many works in the genre of journalism and philosophical fiction.

Dozens of feature and animated films have been made based on Twain’s novels and stories, and his “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is known all over the world.

So, in front of you short biography of Mark Twain.

Biography of Twain

Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida (Missouri).

On his birthday, Halley's Comet flew over the Earth. An interesting fact is that on the day of the writer’s death, the same comet will sweep over the Earth again (see).

Mark Twain's father, John Marshall, was a judge, and his mother, Jane Lampton, was a housewife. However, despite the father’s seemingly good position, the family experienced serious financial difficulties.

In this regard, the Clemens family decided to move to the shipping city of Hannibal. It was this small town with its attractions that left many pleasant and warm memories in the memory of the future writer, playing an important role in Twain’s biography.

Childhood and youth

When Twain was 12 years old, his father died of pneumonia, leaving behind many debts. For this reason, the children had to leave school and go to work.

Soon, Twain's older brother began publishing a newspaper. As a result, Mark began working there as a typesetter. It was then that the young man began to sometimes write his own articles.

At the age of 18, Twain went on a trip to the cities of America.

During this period of his biography, he developed a special interest in. He spends a long time in libraries, reading different genres.

Over time, Mark Twain becomes a pilot on the ship. In his own words, he really liked this profession, which required attentiveness and knowledge of the fairway.

However, when the Civil War began in 1861, private shipping declined. As a result, the guy had to look for another job.

Creative biography of Twain

Over time, Mark Twain goes to the Wild West to mine precious metals. Despite the fact that the mines did not make him rich, during this period of his biography he managed to compose several witty stories.

In 1863, the writer signed his books for the first time with the pseudonym Mark Twain, taken from shipping practice. In the future, he will publish all his works only under this name, and it is with this name that he will go down in the history of world literature.

The debut work in Twain's biography was “The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras.” This humorous story gained great popularity throughout America.

After this, Twain began to actively engage in writing. He was offered cooperation by many reputable publications, who wanted them to publish the works of the rising literary star.

Soon Mark discovers his gift as a speaker, and therefore he begins to speak frequently in different halls in front of large audiences. During this period of his biography, he meets his future wife Olivia, who was the sister of his friend.

Twain's works

At the peak of his popularity, Mark Twain wrote several books in the genre of realism, which received many positive feedback from critics.

In 1876, the famous story “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” came out from his pen, which brought him even greater popularity. Interestingly, it contained many autobiographical episodes from the author’s life.

After this, Mark Twain’s new historical novel “The Prince and the Pauper” is published. In America, the book was a stunning success. Later this work will translate, thanks to which Soviet citizens will be able to appreciate this wonderful novel.

In the mid-1880s, Mark Twain opened his own publishing house, in which he published the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” He later published the best-selling book “Memoirs,” which he dedicated to American President Ulysses S. Grant.

Twain's printing house existed for about 10 years until it went completely bankrupt due to the economic crisis that began in the United States.

It is worth noting that latest works Twain, although they were quite popular, were no longer as successful as the first ones.

At this time, the writer’s biography saw the peak of fame and recognition: he was awarded doctoral degrees at various American universities and was honored in every possible way.

Friends of Mark Twain

Mark Twain was very interested. He had friendly relations with a famous inventor (see). Together with him, he could spend a long time in the laboratory, observing the research of the “Lightning Lord”.

Another close friend of Twain was oil tycoon Henry Rogers. It is interesting that by nature Henry was very stingy person. However, after a long conversation with the writer, he changed dramatically.

The tycoon helped Mark Twain get rid of financial difficulties, and also began donating substantial sums of money to charity. Moreover, many of his donations became known only after Rogers’ death.

Death

In the last decade of his life, Mark Twain had to experience many tragedies associated with his family. He survived the death of three children and his wife Olivia, whom he loved very much.

Perhaps this is why during this period of his biography he finally lost faith in God and began to promote atheism. This was especially noticeable in the works “The Mysterious Stranger” and “Letter from the Earth,” published after the death of the classic.

Samuel Clemens, known to the world as Mark Twain, died on April 21, 1910 at the age of 74.

The official cause of his death was angina. The writer was buried in the state at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira.

Photo of Twain

Below you can see the few photos of Mark Twain that exist at all.

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Biography American writer Mark Twain, who devoted many of his books to adventure, is itself full of various journeys and unexpected twists of fate. Full name prose writer - Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in the late autumn of 1835, during the period when Halley's Comet swept over the Earth. By a mysterious coincidence, the second flight celestial body over the planet will occur exactly on the day of the writer’s death.

The family of the future writer lived in the small village of Florida, Missouri. The parents were John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. The family experienced difficulties, although the father served as a judge. And soon they were forced to move to the shipping city of Hannibal, which was located on the banks of the American Mississippi River. Sam has the warmest childhood memories associated with this place. They formed the basis of most popular works prose writer.

After the death of his father in 1847, when Sam was only 12 years old, the family was left on the verge of ruin. The children had to leave school and start working. The boy was lucky: his older brother Orion had just opened his own printing house, and the future writer entered there as a typesetter. Occasionally he managed to publish his own articles, which did not leave readers indifferent.

Years of youth

At the age of 18, Samuel Clemens travels around the country. He reads voraciously, visiting the best library halls. A boy who was forced to leave school during his childhood is filling educational gaps in New York's book depositories. Soon the young man receives the position of assistant pilot on a ship.

According to the writer himself, he could have devoted his whole life to working on the Mississippi River if the Civil War had not begun in 1861. For a while, Sam falls into the ranks of the Confederates, but soon goes to the Wild West to search for gold and silver mines.

First attempts at writing

The work of mining precious metals did not bring Samuel much money, but here for the first time he is revealed as an observant and witty writer of short pamphlets and stories. And in 1863, for the first time, the writer signed his works with the pseudonym Mark Twain, taken from shipping practice. The prose writer never signed his books with his real name. It must be said that Samuel immediately became popular, and his first major humorous work, “The Famous Jumping Frog from Calaveras,” became famous in all states.

For several years in a row, the newly minted feuilletonist changes one edition after another, where he publishes his reviews and stories, honing his skills. Mark Twain speaks a lot to audiences. At the same time, another of his talents as an excellent speaker and storyteller is revealed. During his next move, he meets his future wife Olivia, the sister of his close friend. The photos from those times show that this is a successful and self-confident person. Everything about him speaks about this: his look, height and posture. Samuel is worried best time own life.

Creativity flourishes

Inspired by changes in my personal life, the writer easily creates several works in the style of realism, which cemented his name in the series classics of the 19th century century. Appears in the mid-70s famous story“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, in which the childhood of the writer himself is described somewhat differently. Then the story “The Prince and the Pauper” was published, which appealed to the taste of the American people. The book "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" also appears, where historical theme intertwined with the theme of traveling in a time machine.

In the mid-80s, Samuel Clemens opened his own publishing house, and the first book was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In this novel, Mark Twain for the first time clearly criticizes established order in society. The writer also publishes the bestseller “Memoirs”, enlightened by the President of the States V.S. Grant. Its own printing house existed until the mid-90s, until it finally went bankrupt due to the economic collapse in the country.

The writer's last books, which were written in a well-honed, verified style, did not have the same success as the first. His heroes, while still remaining witty adventurers, find themselves in ambiguous situations that require a philosophical approach and an uncompromising choice. During these years, Mark Twain was awarded a number of doctoral degrees from leading US universities. This was very flattering for a man who had long ago been forced to leave school.

Writer's friends

Samuel Clemens treasured his friendship with Nikola Tesla. The age difference of more than 20 years did not interfere with their creative communication. Together they participated in the physicist's bold experiments, and in free time the writer often made fun of his serious friend. But one day Nikola still managed to laugh it off. He offered the aged Samuel a certain means of rejuvenation, and after happily trying it, the writer felt that he was getting younger before his eyes. But after a while he rushed to the restroom due to severe stomach pain. According to him, the product had a radical cleansing effect on him.

In 1893, fate brought Mark Twain together with financial tycoon Henry Rogers, who was known as a great misanthrope and miser. But close friendship with the writer changed him. The banker not only helped the writer’s family overcome financial difficulties, but also became a real donor and philanthropist, which became evident after his death. Henry spent a lot of money supporting young talent. He also organized jobs for people with disabilities.

Quotes

Samuel Clemens was a very sharp-tongued man. This was evident both in his writing and in his spoken language. Many of his statements became catchphrases that have not lost their relevance to this day. Here are some of them:

“Quitting smoking is easy. I threw it a hundred times myself.”

“Be careful when reading books about health. You could die from a typo"

“First of all, you need facts, and only then you can twist them”

Decline years

The last decade of the writer’s life turned out to be poisoned by the bitterness of irreparable losses: from the beginning of the new century, Mark Twain experienced death of three children and beloved wife Olivia. At the same time, he finally became firmly established in his views on religion.

In his last works, “The Mysterious Stranger” and “Letter from the Earth,” which were published only years after his death, Twain glorifies atheism with his usual sarcasm. The cause of his own death was angina. Her next attack claimed the life of the great writer in mid-spring 1910 in the city of Redding, Connecticut.

Bibliography

• The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras - 1867
• Simpletons Abroad - 1869
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - 1876
• The Prince and the Pauper - 1882
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn -1884
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court -1889
• American Challenger - 1892
• Tom Sawyer Abroad - 1894
• Dupe Wilson - 1894
• Tom Sawyer - Detective - 1896
• Personal memories of Joan of Arc by Sieur Louis de Comte, her page and her secretary - 1896
• The Mysterious Stranger - 1916

Mark Twain is a writer who made great contributions to journalism and social activities. His creativity was not limited to a certain direction. He wrote humorous and satirical works, journalism and even science fiction. On the other hand, the author always adhered to a democratic and humanistic position. The description of life should begin with the fact that Mark Twain’s real name is completely different. The initials by which he is known throughout the world are his pseudonym. The history of its origin is quite interesting. The real name of the writer is Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

The appearance of a pseudonym

How did the idea of ​​creating a different name come about? Samuel Clemens himself said that "Mark Twain" was taken from river navigation terminology. IN early years he held the position of assistant pilot on the Mississippi. Each time the message that the minimum mark had been reached, which was acceptable for the passage of river boats, sounded like “Mark Twain”. It turns out there is nothing unusual in this story.

However, there is another version why the writer changed his real name to Mark Twain. In 1861, the Northern Star magazine published a story written in a humorous direction by Artemus Ward. One of the main characters was named Mark Twain. Clemens really liked the humorous section, and for his early performances he chose stories from this particular author.

Childhood and adolescence

Samuel Clemens (real name Mark Twain) was born on November 30, 1835 in the small town of Florida, which was located in Missouri. When the boy was 4 years old, his parents, in search of a way to improve their lives, decided to move to the city of Hannibal. He was in the same state. The image of this particular town and its inhabitants was later reflected in most of Mark Twain’s published books.

Clemens's father died of pneumonia in 1847, leaving him with a large amount of debt. To improve the family's financial situation, the eldest son decided to publish a newspaper, to which young Samuel made a major contribution. The boy was engaged in typing, and sometimes published as an author of articles. The most alive and interesting works were written by the future Mark Twain. Usually such materials were published when his brother was away. Clemens also traveled occasionally to St. Louis and New York.

Pre-literary activity

The biography of Mark Twain is interesting not only for his literary creations. Before devoting himself to the work of a writer, he worked as a pilot on a steamship ship. Clemens himself later said that if not Civil War, he would continue to work on the ship. Since private shipping was prohibited, the young man had to change his type of activity.

May 22, 1861 is marked in the biography of Mark Twain by the fact that he joined the Masonic fraternity. The writer knew firsthand about the people's militia, which he vividly described in 1861. In the summer of that year he went west. TO interesting facts His biography also includes his experience as a miner in Nevada, where silver was mined. But his mining career did not work out, so Clemens decided to try himself as a newspaper employee.

Beginning of a literary career

In a Virginia newspaper, Clemens (Mark Twain's real name was indicated just above) was first published under a pseudonym. In 1864, he moved to San Francisco, where he began collaborating with several newspapers at once. The year 1865 was marked by the fact that Mark Twain achieved his first success as a writer. His story, written in a humorous genre, was published and recognized as the best.

In the spring of 1866, Twain went on a trip to Hawaii. On behalf of the newspaper, he had to tell in letters about what happened to him during the trip. After returning to their native lands, these descriptions were a huge success. Soon the writer received an offer to go on a tour around the state with interesting lectures, which the public listened to with pleasure.

Publication of the first book

Twain received his first real recognition as a writer for another book, which also contained his travel stories. In 1867, he went to travel around Europe as a correspondent. Clemens also visited Russia: Odessa, Yalta, Sevastopol. Interesting facts about Mark Twain include his visit as part of a ship’s delegation, when he visited the residence of the Emperor of Russia.

The author sent his impressions to the editor, then they were published in the newspaper. Later they were combined into one book called "Simps Abroad." It was released in 1869, which was an immediate success. Throughout his creative career, Twain visited Europe, Asia, America and Australia.

In 1870, when Mark Twain was at the height of his popularity, he married and moved to Buffalo, then to Hartford. At this time, the writer gave lectures not only in America, but also abroad. Afterwards he began to work in the genre of sharp satire, criticizing the American government.

Creative career

Mark Twain's books are still loved by readers all over the world. Greatest contribution to American literature brought "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". It is difficult to find a person who would not be familiar with this work. People's love and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "The Prince and the Pauper" and other books are also successful. Today they are in the home libraries of many families. Most of his public appearances and lectures have not survived.

Interesting facts about Mark Twain include the fact that some works were banned from publication by the writer himself during his lifetime. The lectures were interesting to listeners because Clemens had a talent for speaking in public. When he achieved fame and recognition, he began to look for young talents and helped them take their first steps in the literary field. The writer used useful contacts in literary circles and his own publishing company.

For example, he was very friendly with Nikola Tesla. Mark Twain was interested in science, which is confirmed by the descriptions of various technologies in the books. From time to time his works were banned by censorship. Some works that could offend people's religious feelings were not published at the request of the writer's family. Mark Twain himself, with his characteristic sense of humor, took censorship lightly.

The last years of the writer's life

Mark Twain experienced the loss of three of his four children and the death of his wife. Despite his depressed state, he never lost his ability to joke. His financial situation was not in the best condition. Most of the savings were invested in a new model of the machine, which was never released. The rights to Mark Twain's books were stolen by plagiarists.

In 1893, the writer was introduced to the famous oil magnate Henry Rogers. Soon their acquaintance grew into a strong friendship. His death greatly upset Twain. Samuel Clemens, who is known throughout the world as Mark Twain, died on April 21, 1910. This is the same year that Halley's Comet passed by.

Mark Twain's biography is rich in bright events, ups and downs. However, he always treated everything with humor. And his contribution to literature - not only American, but also worldwide - is great. And now all the boys, and girls too, as well as adults, continue to read about the adventures of two mischievous children - Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.