Samuel Langhorn Clemens.
Samuel L. Clemens, who is better known as “Mark Twain,” was born in Monroe county, Missouri, November 30, 1835, and received his education at the village schools. On his father’s death, which took place when he was twelve years of age, he went to work in order to contribute to the support of his mother and little brothers and sisters. As an apprentice in the office of the Hannibal (Missouri) Courier, he laid the foundations of his reputation as author and journalist. Within the following twenty-five years he was steamboat pilot, soldier, miner and editor. His first contributions under his famous nom-de-plume appeared in 1862, in the newspaper, The Virginia City Enterprise. Since 1872 he has devoted himself to literary work, lecturing occasionally, and making frequent trips to Europe. It is said that nearly a million copies of his works have been sold. Space will not permit of a full list of them, but Roughing It, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Pudden-Head Wilson are classics whose popularity bids fair to last as long as American literature itself.