Mark Twain

American author and humorist (1835–1910)

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Global rank#25
United States rank#9
Journalists rank#1
Wikipedia177K

Lived 1835–1910, aged 75United States

United States JournalistsJournalist

Wikipedia
164 languages
Cross-language footprint
Global rank
#25
Fame.am leaderboard
Era
1835–1910
Aged 75
Known for
Big Business
1988

Summary

Updated 2026-07-17

He turned a Mississippi River term into the most recognizable pen name in American letters, then wrote the novel Faulkner would later call the wellspring of all American literature. His wit made him a friend to presidents and royalty; his satire made him a thorn in the side of empires.

Biography

About

Samuel Langhorne Clemens grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, apprenticed as a printer, then piloted riverboats on the Mississippi before drifting west to Nevada, where failed mining sent him into journalism. A humorous story about a jumping frog, published in 1865, brought him international attention under the name Mark Twain. He followed with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876 and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884, along with A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and The Gilded Age, cowritten with Charles Dudley Warner. His lecture circuit made him wealthy, but he lost most of it to b…

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