The Greatest American Humorist of his Age

byGayleneNepia

11.3K followers

8 years ago

Mark Twain was an American writer, lecturer, publisher, humorist an entrepreneur.

He was lauded "The Greatest American Humorist of his Age"

Source: Obituary - New York Times

Facts about Mark Twain:

1. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835
2. In 1861, Twain briefly enlisted in a Confederate local unit known as Marion Rangers
3. He then went on to work at Virginia City Newspaper and began using the name Mark Twain in 1863
4. His first successful article was "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", in 1865
5. His first book, "The Innocents Abroad" published in 1869
6. Growing up in Missouri was the inspiration for "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" published in 1876
7. He wrote 28 books
8. Four books were published after his death
9. He married Olivia Langdon in 1870 and had 4 children with her
10. In 1894, he filed for bankruptcy from failed investments
11. He died of a heart attack, April 21, 1910 at the age of 74 years
12. Notable works:
    1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
    2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    3. The Innocents Abroad
    4. Roughing it
    5. Life on the Mississippi
    6. The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
    7. The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain Quotes:

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the paper you are misinformed"

"Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter"

"Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful of your life"

"When all else fails, write what your heart tells you. You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus"

Many of Mark Twain's works have been suppressed at times for one reason or another.

In recent years, there have been attempts to ban Huckleberry Finn from various libraries, because Twain's use of local color offends some people. Although Twain was against racism, some have condemned his work as racist for its accurate depiction of the language in common use in the United States in the 19th century.

I'll leave you all with one more quote from Twain:

explore. dream. discover.