Mark Twain

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, was a prominent American author and humorist best known for his novels "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884). Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi River, a setting that would profoundly influence his literary works.

After the death of his father in 1847, Twain left school to become a typesetter's apprentice, eventually working as a printer in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. It was during this period that he began writing, submitting sketches to local newspapers. Later, Twain worked as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, an experience that provided rich material for his writing and cemented his pen name, derived from the river term "mark twain," which means two fathoms deep.

Twain's writing was characterized by his keen wit, satirical humor, and sharp social commentary. Beyond novels, he wrote travel books, including "The Innocents Abroad" (1869) and "Roughing It" (1872). Despite facing financial troubles and personal losses, including the deaths of his wife and children, Twain left a profound legacy. He passed away on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut, but remains a towering figure in American literature, celebrated for his contributions to the literary canon and his critique of societal norms.