Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known to the world as Mark Twain, was born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, and died on April 21, 1910. He is best remembered as a novelist, humorist, and sharp social commentator, often hailed as the father of American literature. Raised in Hannibal, Missouri, the setting for his most famous works, Twain began his career as a printer’s apprentice and typesetter, later becoming a Mississippi riverboat pilot. After a failed stint as a miner in Nevada, he turned to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. His breakthrough came with the 1865 story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which brought him international fame. Twain’s signature works include *The Adventures of Tom Sawyer* and its sequel, *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*, often called the Great American Novel, as well as *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court* and *Pudd’nhead Wilson*. He co-wrote *The Gilded Age* with Charles Dudley Warner. A friend to presidents and royalty, Twain’s later years were marked by anti-imperialist activism, serving as vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League. He also wrote the satirical pamphlet "King Leopold’s Soliloquy" condemning atrocities in the Congo. Though his investments, including the Paige Compositor, drained his fortune, his legacy endures. His work has been adapted into comic form in series such as *Classics Illustrated* and *Joyas Literarias Juveniles*.