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On February 3, 1863, Samuel Clemens first used the pen name of Mark Twain in a Virginia City newspaper. From the article:
"Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and raised there in the eastern part of the state. His schooling was minimal; he was essentially self-taught. As a teenager, he worked for local newspapers, and then for printing shops in Cincinnati and other eastern cities. In 1857, now twenty-one, Sam persuaded Horace Bixby, a Mississippi River steamboat pilot, to accept him as an apprentice. Sam sailed up and down the Mississippi first as an apprentice, then as a full-fledged pilot until the advent of the Civil War, when hostilities closed the river to civilian traffic. Clemens fled the oncoming holocaust by attaching himself as a secretary to his brother Orion, who had just been appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory and was leaving for Carson City on July 21, 1861.
Soon tiring of working for his brother, Sam was attracted to the prospect of becoming rich by prospecting for gold and silver. The work turned out to be unexpectedly arduous and unprofitable, as did another job in a stamping mill. While he toiled at these physical jobs during the day, Sam took to writing humorous sketches at night, and sent them to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. A particularly clever satire caught the eye of Joe Goodman, the newspaper's editor. Goodman offered him a job as a reporter, and Sam accepted with alacrity. His literary career had begun.
The Enterprise was already the outstanding newspaper of the Comstock Lode, and on its way to becoming one of the best in the country. It attracted the best writing talent in the area by offering high wages and unusual freedom of discretion. Besides its owners, Joe Goodman and Denis McCarthy, both unusually self-possessed young men of integrity, ability, and ambition, the Enterprise also employed William Wright, the best writer on the Comstock, who used the penname of Dan De Quille. Other employees included the combative editorialist Rollin Daggett, the printer Steve Gillis, and a number of other transient but talented Sagebrush journalists. Sam and De Quille became roommates, and under De Quille's experienced but gentle tutelage and Goodman's inspiration, Sam quickly absorbed what De Quille had to teach him and soon revealed himself as the possessor of original genius. He adopted the penname of Mark Twain and within months was producing works of humor that rivaled De Quille's.
In 1864, Twain moved to California, worked for such papers as San Francisco's Call and the Alta California, and the Sacramento Union, while continuing to send contributions to the Territorial Enterprise. Twain's years in Nevada and California ultimately became the basis for the main group of chapters of Roughing It (1872). In 1866, The Sacramento Union engaged him to write a series of travel letters from Hawaii, which became the latter chapters of Roughing It.
In 1867 the Alta California in return for another series of travel letters paid Twain's fare on the steamship Quaker City, which left New York in June with a group of well-to-do tourists for a 164-day excursion to the Azore Islands and an itinerary of visits to ports on the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Twain was part of a small band of passengers on that voyage who scorned the wealthy and sanctimonious culture of the majority. His satirical account of the trip became The Innocents Abroad (1869). The book was a success and from then on Twain's reputation as an author steadily grew.
Twain's early career was eventful. In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon of Elmira, New York, and started family life in Buffalo, New York, where he was part-owner of a newspaper. In 1871, he sold his house and share in the newspaper and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, a prestigious cultural center. All the while, Twain was a prolific writer and promoted himself by collecting his short works and publishing them as books. His first book, for example, was The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1869). Among the highlights of his early career, in addition to those already mentioned, were The Gilded Age (1874) and, especially, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Although most of his books were regarded as humorous, recent scholarship has established a dark side to his writing, an ambivalent and deeper level of continuous engagement with serious ideas that is concealed by the sugar-coating of surface humor.
In 1883, his middle period under way, Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi, a memorable account of his associations with that mighty river, and in 1884-85 (in British and American editions), he published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his most famous work. Among other books, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court came out in 1889, and Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins in 1894.
Twain's last period, the latter 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century, is characterized by works that show with increasing obviousness his disillusion with life and God: Following the Equator (1897), the Mysterious Stranger manuscripts (1897-1908), and Letters from the Earth (1909), and short stories and essays of social, political, and theological criticism.
At the time of his death in 1910, Twain was easily America's most beloved author. Since then, his reputation has increased by becoming not only America's most respected author, but also one of world literature's giants. Scholarship has discovered depths and shadows in his writing where before had only been noticed a bright and cheery surface. Famous studies of his literature pointed out the biographical importance of two periods of his life: the Matter of Hannibal and the Matter of the River. To this has recently been added the Matter of the West, which demonstrates that the years Twain spent in Nevada and California were formative ones for his thought and art. Now that much Sagebrush literature is being recovered, it is possible to recognize Twain's assimilation of distinctive Sagebrush attitudes and techniques, most especially that of the hoax. He came to incorporate hoaxes into most of his major literature for he found them to be perfect covers for his dark and ironic philosophy. His literature thus combines a genius for humor with profound despair."
"Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and raised there in the eastern part of the state. His schooling was minimal; he was essentially self-taught. As a teenager, he worked for local newspapers, and then for printing shops in Cincinnati and other eastern cities. In 1857, now twenty-one, Sam persuaded Horace Bixby, a Mississippi River steamboat pilot, to accept him as an apprentice. Sam sailed up and down the Mississippi first as an apprentice, then as a full-fledged pilot until the advent of the Civil War, when hostilities closed the river to civilian traffic. Clemens fled the oncoming holocaust by attaching himself as a secretary to his brother Orion, who had just been appointed Secretary of the Nevada Territory and was leaving for Carson City on July 21, 1861.
Soon tiring of working for his brother, Sam was attracted to the prospect of becoming rich by prospecting for gold and silver. The work turned out to be unexpectedly arduous and unprofitable, as did another job in a stamping mill. While he toiled at these physical jobs during the day, Sam took to writing humorous sketches at night, and sent them to the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. A particularly clever satire caught the eye of Joe Goodman, the newspaper's editor. Goodman offered him a job as a reporter, and Sam accepted with alacrity. His literary career had begun.
The Enterprise was already the outstanding newspaper of the Comstock Lode, and on its way to becoming one of the best in the country. It attracted the best writing talent in the area by offering high wages and unusual freedom of discretion. Besides its owners, Joe Goodman and Denis McCarthy, both unusually self-possessed young men of integrity, ability, and ambition, the Enterprise also employed William Wright, the best writer on the Comstock, who used the penname of Dan De Quille. Other employees included the combative editorialist Rollin Daggett, the printer Steve Gillis, and a number of other transient but talented Sagebrush journalists. Sam and De Quille became roommates, and under De Quille's experienced but gentle tutelage and Goodman's inspiration, Sam quickly absorbed what De Quille had to teach him and soon revealed himself as the possessor of original genius. He adopted the penname of Mark Twain and within months was producing works of humor that rivaled De Quille's.
In 1864, Twain moved to California, worked for such papers as San Francisco's Call and the Alta California, and the Sacramento Union, while continuing to send contributions to the Territorial Enterprise. Twain's years in Nevada and California ultimately became the basis for the main group of chapters of Roughing It (1872). In 1866, The Sacramento Union engaged him to write a series of travel letters from Hawaii, which became the latter chapters of Roughing It.
In 1867 the Alta California in return for another series of travel letters paid Twain's fare on the steamship Quaker City, which left New York in June with a group of well-to-do tourists for a 164-day excursion to the Azore Islands and an itinerary of visits to ports on the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Twain was part of a small band of passengers on that voyage who scorned the wealthy and sanctimonious culture of the majority. His satirical account of the trip became The Innocents Abroad (1869). The book was a success and from then on Twain's reputation as an author steadily grew.
Twain's early career was eventful. In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon of Elmira, New York, and started family life in Buffalo, New York, where he was part-owner of a newspaper. In 1871, he sold his house and share in the newspaper and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, a prestigious cultural center. All the while, Twain was a prolific writer and promoted himself by collecting his short works and publishing them as books. His first book, for example, was The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches (1869). Among the highlights of his early career, in addition to those already mentioned, were The Gilded Age (1874) and, especially, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Although most of his books were regarded as humorous, recent scholarship has established a dark side to his writing, an ambivalent and deeper level of continuous engagement with serious ideas that is concealed by the sugar-coating of surface humor.
In 1883, his middle period under way, Twain wrote Life on the Mississippi, a memorable account of his associations with that mighty river, and in 1884-85 (in British and American editions), he published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his most famous work. Among other books, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court came out in 1889, and Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins in 1894.
Twain's last period, the latter 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century, is characterized by works that show with increasing obviousness his disillusion with life and God: Following the Equator (1897), the Mysterious Stranger manuscripts (1897-1908), and Letters from the Earth (1909), and short stories and essays of social, political, and theological criticism.
At the time of his death in 1910, Twain was easily America's most beloved author. Since then, his reputation has increased by becoming not only America's most respected author, but also one of world literature's giants. Scholarship has discovered depths and shadows in his writing where before had only been noticed a bright and cheery surface. Famous studies of his literature pointed out the biographical importance of two periods of his life: the Matter of Hannibal and the Matter of the River. To this has recently been added the Matter of the West, which demonstrates that the years Twain spent in Nevada and California were formative ones for his thought and art. Now that much Sagebrush literature is being recovered, it is possible to recognize Twain's assimilation of distinctive Sagebrush attitudes and techniques, most especially that of the hoax. He came to incorporate hoaxes into most of his major literature for he found them to be perfect covers for his dark and ironic philosophy. His literature thus combines a genius for humor with profound despair."
Mark Twain | ONE
Posted from onlinenevada.org
World History
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Posted 5 y ago
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Mark Twain's America interweaves the life and times of Mark Twain For educational purposes only
Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that on February 3, 1863 American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer Samuel Langhorne Clemens first used the pen name of Mark Twain in a Virginia City newspaper.
Rest in peace Samuel Langhorne Clemens!
IMAX: Mark Twain's America
Mark Twain's America interweaves the life and times of Mark Twain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0WioOn8Tkw
Images:
1. Samuel Clemens, better-known as Mark Twain, with his wife Olivia 'Livy' [Langdon] and their three daughters [Susan (Susy), Clara and Jean] as they appeared in May of 1884.
2. Aldine Club Dinner for Clemens on Dec 4, 1900
3. 'Mark Twain and Friend' from the Centennial Collection of portrait artist Susan B. Durkee.
4. Mark Twain in 1907.
Background from [http://marktwainhouse.org/about/mark-twain/biography/]
"As Twain’s books provide insight into the past‚ the events of his personal life further demonstrate his role as an eyewitness to history.
During his lifetime‚ Sam Clemens watched a young United States evolve from a nation torn apart by internal conflicts to one of international power. He experienced America’s vast growth and change – from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ big government and foreign wars. And along the way‚ he often had something to say about the changes happening in his country.
The Early Years
Samuel Clemens was born on November 30‚ 1835 in Florida‚ Missouri‚ the sixth of seven children. At age 4‚ Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River. Missouri‚ at the time‚ was a fairly new state (it had gained statehood in 1821) and made up part of the country’s western border. It was also a state that took part in slavery. Sam’s father owned one enslaved person, and his uncle owned several. In fact‚ it was on his uncle’s farm that Sam spent many boyhood summers playing in the enslaved people’s quarters‚ listening to tall tales and the spirituals that he would enjoy throughout his life.
In 1847‚ when Sam was 11‚ his father died. Shortly thereafter he left school to work as a printer’s apprentice for a local newspaper. His job was to arrange the type for each of the newspaper’s stories‚ allowing Sam to read the news of the world while completing his work.
Twain’s Young Adult Life
At 18‚ Sam headed east to New York City and Philadelphia‚ where he worked on several different newspapers and found some success at writing articles. By 1857‚ he had returned home to embark on a new career as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861‚ however‚ all traffic along the river came to a halt‚ as did Sam’s pilot career. Inspired by the times‚ Sam joined up with a volunteer Confederate unit called the Marion Rangers‚ but he quit after just two weeks.
In search of a new career‚ Sam headed west in July 1861‚ at the invitation of his brother‚ Orion‚ who had just been appointed secretary of the Nevada Territory. Lured by the infectious hope of striking it rich in Nevada’s silver rush‚ Sam traveled across the open frontier from Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach. Along the journey Sam encountered Native American tribes for the first time, along with a variety of unique characters‚ mishaps, and disappointments. These events would find a way into his short stories and books‚ particularly Roughing It.
After failing as a silver prospector‚ Sam began writing for the Territorial Enterprise‚ a Virginia City‚ Nevada newspaper where he used‚ for the first time‚ his pen name‚ Mark Twain. Seeking change, by 1864 Sam headed for San Francisco where he continued to write for local papers.
In 1865 Sam’s first “big break” came with the publication of his short story “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog ” in papers across the country. A year later Sam was hired by the Sacramento Union to visit and report on the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). His writings were so popular that‚ upon his return‚ he embarked upon his first lecture tour‚ which established him as a successful stage performer.
Hired by the Alta California to continue his travel writing from the east‚ Sam arrived in New York City in 1867. He quickly signed up for a steamship tour of Europe and the “Holy Land.” His travel letters‚ full of vivid descriptions and tongue-in-cheek observations‚ met with such audience approval that they were later reworked into his first book‚ The Innocents Abroad, published in 1869. It was also on this trip that Clemens met his future brother-in-law‚ Charles Langdon. Langdon reportedly showed Sam a picture of his sister‚ Olivia‚ and Sam fell in love at first sight.
Twain Starts a Family and Moves to Hartford
After courting for two years‚ Sam Clemens and Olivia (Livy) Langdon were married in 1870. They settled in Buffalo‚ New York‚ where Sam had become a partner‚ editor, and writer for the daily newspaper the Buffalo Express. While they were living in Buffalo‚ their first child‚ Langdon Clemens‚ was born.
In 1871 Sam moved his family to Hartford‚ Connecticut‚ a city he had come to love while visiting his publisher there and where he had made friends. Livy also had family connections to the city. For the first few years the Clemenses rented a house in the heart of Nook Farm‚ a residential area that was home to numerous writers‚ publishers, and other prominent figures. In 1872 Sam’s recollections and tall tales from his frontier adventures were published in his book Roughing It. That same year the Clemenses’ first daughter Susy was born‚ but their son‚ Langdon‚ died at age two from diphtheria.
In 1873 Sam’s focus turned toward social criticism. He and Hartford Courant publisher Charles Dudley Warner co-wrote The Gilded Age‚ a novel that attacked political corruption‚ big business, and the American obsession with getting rich that seemed to dominate the era. Ironically‚ a year after its publication‚ the Clemenses’ elaborate 25-room house on Farmington Avenue‚ which had cost the then-huge sum of $40‚000-$45‚000‚ was completed.
Twain Writes his Most Famous Books While Living in Hartford
For the next 17 years (1874-1891)‚ Sam‚ Livy, and their three daughters (Clara was born in 1874 and Jean in 1880) lived in the Hartford home. During those years Sam completed some of his most famous books‚ often finding a summer refuge for uninterrupted work at his sister-in-law’s farm in Elmira‚ New York. Novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Life on the Mississippi (1883) captured both his Missouri memories and depictions of the American scene. Yet his social commentary continued. The Prince and the Pauper (1881) explored class relations, as does A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889), which‚ going a step further‚ criticized oppression in general while examining the period’s explosion of new technologies. And‚ in perhaps his most famous work‚ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)‚ Clemens‚ by the way he attacked the institution of slavery‚ railed against the failures of Reconstruction and the continued poor treatment of African Americans in his own time.
Huckleberry Finn was also the first book published by Sam’s own publishing company‚ The Charles L. Webster Company. In an attempt to gain control over publication as well as to make substantial profits‚ Sam created the company in 1884. A year later he contracted with Ulysses S. Grant to publish Grant’s memoirs; the two-volume set provided large royalties for Grant’s widow and was a financial success for the publisher as well.
Twain’s Financial Ruin and Subsequent Travels
Although Sam enjoyed financial success during his Hartford years‚ he continually made bad investments in new inventions‚ which eventually brought him to bankruptcy. In an effort to economize and pay back his debts‚ Sam and Livy moved their family to Europe in 1891. When his publishing company failed in 1894‚ Sam was forced to set out on a worldwide lecture tour to earn money. In 1896 tragedy struck when Susy Clemens‚ at age 24‚ died from meningitis while on a visit to the Hartford home. Unable to bear being in the place of her death‚ the Clemenses never returned to Hartford to live.
From 1891 until 1900‚ Sam and his family traveled throughout the world. During those years Sam witnessed the increasing exploitation of weaker governments by European powers‚ which he described in his book Following the Equator (1897). The Boer War in South Africa and the Boxer Rebellion in China fueled his growing anger toward imperialistic countries and their actions. With the Spanish-American and Philippine wars in 1898‚ Sam’s wrath was redirected toward the American government. When he returned to the United States in 1900‚ his finances restored‚ Sam readily declared himself an anti-imperialist and‚ from 1901 until his death‚ served as the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League.
Twain’s Darkest Times and Late Life
In these later years‚ Sam’s writings turned dark. They began to focus on human greed and cruelty and questioned the humanity of the human race. His public speeches followed suit and included a harshly sarcastic public introduction of Winston Churchill in 1900. Even though Sam’s lecture tour had managed to get him out of debt‚ his anti-government writings and speeches threatened his livelihood once again. As Sam was labeled by some as a traitor‚ several of his works were never published during his lifetime, either because magazines would not accept them or because of his own personal fear that his marketable reputation would be ruined.
In 1903‚ after living in New York City for three years‚ Livy became ill, and Sam and his wife returned to Italy, where she died a year later. After her death‚ Sam lived in New York until 1908, when he moved into his last house‚ “Stormfield,” in Redding‚ Connecticut. In 1909 his middle daughter Clara was married. In the same year Jean‚ the youngest daughter‚ died from an epileptic seizure. Four months later, on April 21‚ 1910‚ Sam Clemens died at age 74.
Like any good journalist‚ Sam Clemens‚ a.k.a. Mark Twain‚ spent his life observing and reporting on his surroundings. In his writings he provided images of the romantic‚ the real‚ the strengths and weaknesses of a rapidly changing world. By examining his life and his works‚ we can read into the past – piecing together various events of the era and the responses to them. We can delve into the American mindset of the late nineteenth century and make our own observations of history‚ discover new connections‚ create new inferences and gain better insights into the time period and the people who lived in it. As Sam once wrote‚ “Supposing is good‚ but finding out is better.”
FYI LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Sgt Kelli Mays Lt Col John (Jack) ChristensenSSgt Terry P. Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland MSG Andrew White Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.Cynthia Croft SSG Donald H "Don" BatesSSG Robert "Rob" Wentworth
Rest in peace Samuel Langhorne Clemens!
IMAX: Mark Twain's America
Mark Twain's America interweaves the life and times of Mark Twain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0WioOn8Tkw
Images:
1. Samuel Clemens, better-known as Mark Twain, with his wife Olivia 'Livy' [Langdon] and their three daughters [Susan (Susy), Clara and Jean] as they appeared in May of 1884.
2. Aldine Club Dinner for Clemens on Dec 4, 1900
3. 'Mark Twain and Friend' from the Centennial Collection of portrait artist Susan B. Durkee.
4. Mark Twain in 1907.
Background from [http://marktwainhouse.org/about/mark-twain/biography/]
"As Twain’s books provide insight into the past‚ the events of his personal life further demonstrate his role as an eyewitness to history.
During his lifetime‚ Sam Clemens watched a young United States evolve from a nation torn apart by internal conflicts to one of international power. He experienced America’s vast growth and change – from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ big government and foreign wars. And along the way‚ he often had something to say about the changes happening in his country.
The Early Years
Samuel Clemens was born on November 30‚ 1835 in Florida‚ Missouri‚ the sixth of seven children. At age 4‚ Sam and his family moved to the small frontier town of Hannibal‚ Missouri‚ on the banks of the Mississippi River. Missouri‚ at the time‚ was a fairly new state (it had gained statehood in 1821) and made up part of the country’s western border. It was also a state that took part in slavery. Sam’s father owned one enslaved person, and his uncle owned several. In fact‚ it was on his uncle’s farm that Sam spent many boyhood summers playing in the enslaved people’s quarters‚ listening to tall tales and the spirituals that he would enjoy throughout his life.
In 1847‚ when Sam was 11‚ his father died. Shortly thereafter he left school to work as a printer’s apprentice for a local newspaper. His job was to arrange the type for each of the newspaper’s stories‚ allowing Sam to read the news of the world while completing his work.
Twain’s Young Adult Life
At 18‚ Sam headed east to New York City and Philadelphia‚ where he worked on several different newspapers and found some success at writing articles. By 1857‚ he had returned home to embark on a new career as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861‚ however‚ all traffic along the river came to a halt‚ as did Sam’s pilot career. Inspired by the times‚ Sam joined up with a volunteer Confederate unit called the Marion Rangers‚ but he quit after just two weeks.
In search of a new career‚ Sam headed west in July 1861‚ at the invitation of his brother‚ Orion‚ who had just been appointed secretary of the Nevada Territory. Lured by the infectious hope of striking it rich in Nevada’s silver rush‚ Sam traveled across the open frontier from Missouri to Nevada by stagecoach. Along the journey Sam encountered Native American tribes for the first time, along with a variety of unique characters‚ mishaps, and disappointments. These events would find a way into his short stories and books‚ particularly Roughing It.
After failing as a silver prospector‚ Sam began writing for the Territorial Enterprise‚ a Virginia City‚ Nevada newspaper where he used‚ for the first time‚ his pen name‚ Mark Twain. Seeking change, by 1864 Sam headed for San Francisco where he continued to write for local papers.
In 1865 Sam’s first “big break” came with the publication of his short story “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog ” in papers across the country. A year later Sam was hired by the Sacramento Union to visit and report on the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). His writings were so popular that‚ upon his return‚ he embarked upon his first lecture tour‚ which established him as a successful stage performer.
Hired by the Alta California to continue his travel writing from the east‚ Sam arrived in New York City in 1867. He quickly signed up for a steamship tour of Europe and the “Holy Land.” His travel letters‚ full of vivid descriptions and tongue-in-cheek observations‚ met with such audience approval that they were later reworked into his first book‚ The Innocents Abroad, published in 1869. It was also on this trip that Clemens met his future brother-in-law‚ Charles Langdon. Langdon reportedly showed Sam a picture of his sister‚ Olivia‚ and Sam fell in love at first sight.
Twain Starts a Family and Moves to Hartford
After courting for two years‚ Sam Clemens and Olivia (Livy) Langdon were married in 1870. They settled in Buffalo‚ New York‚ where Sam had become a partner‚ editor, and writer for the daily newspaper the Buffalo Express. While they were living in Buffalo‚ their first child‚ Langdon Clemens‚ was born.
In 1871 Sam moved his family to Hartford‚ Connecticut‚ a city he had come to love while visiting his publisher there and where he had made friends. Livy also had family connections to the city. For the first few years the Clemenses rented a house in the heart of Nook Farm‚ a residential area that was home to numerous writers‚ publishers, and other prominent figures. In 1872 Sam’s recollections and tall tales from his frontier adventures were published in his book Roughing It. That same year the Clemenses’ first daughter Susy was born‚ but their son‚ Langdon‚ died at age two from diphtheria.
In 1873 Sam’s focus turned toward social criticism. He and Hartford Courant publisher Charles Dudley Warner co-wrote The Gilded Age‚ a novel that attacked political corruption‚ big business, and the American obsession with getting rich that seemed to dominate the era. Ironically‚ a year after its publication‚ the Clemenses’ elaborate 25-room house on Farmington Avenue‚ which had cost the then-huge sum of $40‚000-$45‚000‚ was completed.
Twain Writes his Most Famous Books While Living in Hartford
For the next 17 years (1874-1891)‚ Sam‚ Livy, and their three daughters (Clara was born in 1874 and Jean in 1880) lived in the Hartford home. During those years Sam completed some of his most famous books‚ often finding a summer refuge for uninterrupted work at his sister-in-law’s farm in Elmira‚ New York. Novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Life on the Mississippi (1883) captured both his Missouri memories and depictions of the American scene. Yet his social commentary continued. The Prince and the Pauper (1881) explored class relations, as does A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889), which‚ going a step further‚ criticized oppression in general while examining the period’s explosion of new technologies. And‚ in perhaps his most famous work‚ Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)‚ Clemens‚ by the way he attacked the institution of slavery‚ railed against the failures of Reconstruction and the continued poor treatment of African Americans in his own time.
Huckleberry Finn was also the first book published by Sam’s own publishing company‚ The Charles L. Webster Company. In an attempt to gain control over publication as well as to make substantial profits‚ Sam created the company in 1884. A year later he contracted with Ulysses S. Grant to publish Grant’s memoirs; the two-volume set provided large royalties for Grant’s widow and was a financial success for the publisher as well.
Twain’s Financial Ruin and Subsequent Travels
Although Sam enjoyed financial success during his Hartford years‚ he continually made bad investments in new inventions‚ which eventually brought him to bankruptcy. In an effort to economize and pay back his debts‚ Sam and Livy moved their family to Europe in 1891. When his publishing company failed in 1894‚ Sam was forced to set out on a worldwide lecture tour to earn money. In 1896 tragedy struck when Susy Clemens‚ at age 24‚ died from meningitis while on a visit to the Hartford home. Unable to bear being in the place of her death‚ the Clemenses never returned to Hartford to live.
From 1891 until 1900‚ Sam and his family traveled throughout the world. During those years Sam witnessed the increasing exploitation of weaker governments by European powers‚ which he described in his book Following the Equator (1897). The Boer War in South Africa and the Boxer Rebellion in China fueled his growing anger toward imperialistic countries and their actions. With the Spanish-American and Philippine wars in 1898‚ Sam’s wrath was redirected toward the American government. When he returned to the United States in 1900‚ his finances restored‚ Sam readily declared himself an anti-imperialist and‚ from 1901 until his death‚ served as the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League.
Twain’s Darkest Times and Late Life
In these later years‚ Sam’s writings turned dark. They began to focus on human greed and cruelty and questioned the humanity of the human race. His public speeches followed suit and included a harshly sarcastic public introduction of Winston Churchill in 1900. Even though Sam’s lecture tour had managed to get him out of debt‚ his anti-government writings and speeches threatened his livelihood once again. As Sam was labeled by some as a traitor‚ several of his works were never published during his lifetime, either because magazines would not accept them or because of his own personal fear that his marketable reputation would be ruined.
In 1903‚ after living in New York City for three years‚ Livy became ill, and Sam and his wife returned to Italy, where she died a year later. After her death‚ Sam lived in New York until 1908, when he moved into his last house‚ “Stormfield,” in Redding‚ Connecticut. In 1909 his middle daughter Clara was married. In the same year Jean‚ the youngest daughter‚ died from an epileptic seizure. Four months later, on April 21‚ 1910‚ Sam Clemens died at age 74.
Like any good journalist‚ Sam Clemens‚ a.k.a. Mark Twain‚ spent his life observing and reporting on his surroundings. In his writings he provided images of the romantic‚ the real‚ the strengths and weaknesses of a rapidly changing world. By examining his life and his works‚ we can read into the past – piecing together various events of the era and the responses to them. We can delve into the American mindset of the late nineteenth century and make our own observations of history‚ discover new connections‚ create new inferences and gain better insights into the time period and the people who lived in it. As Sam once wrote‚ “Supposing is good‚ but finding out is better.”
FYI LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Sgt Kelli Mays Lt Col John (Jack) ChristensenSSgt Terry P. Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland MSG Andrew White Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D.Cynthia Croft SSG Donald H "Don" BatesSSG Robert "Rob" Wentworth
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LTC Stephen F.
This was a project my daughter Molly did on Mark Twain, very interesting facts...
The Life Of Mark Twain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFx8x4CbC0
FYI 1stsgt Glenn BrackinJennifer Lee (Doerflinger) HillSP6 Stephen RogersonCPT Paul Whitmer1SG James MatthewsNicci EisenhauerCPT (Join to see) MSgt David HoffmanSgt (Join to see)SFC (Join to see)cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest FitzrandolphCWO3 Dave Alcantara SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerCPT Daniel CoxSSG Michael NollSFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTMSGT (Join to see)SFC David Xanten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klFx8x4CbC0
FYI 1stsgt Glenn BrackinJennifer Lee (Doerflinger) HillSP6 Stephen RogersonCPT Paul Whitmer1SG James MatthewsNicci EisenhauerCPT (Join to see) MSgt David HoffmanSgt (Join to see)SFC (Join to see)cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest FitzrandolphCWO3 Dave Alcantara SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerCPT Daniel CoxSSG Michael NollSFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTMSGT (Join to see)SFC David Xanten
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LTC Stephen F.
This is How Mark Twain Got His Pen Name
Growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River fueled the imagination of a young boy named Samuel Clemens. The world would later know him as Mark Twain. Fr...
This is How Mark Twain Got His Pen Name
"Growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River fueled the imagination of a young boy named Samuel Clemens. The world would later know him as Mark Twain."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywea-wkGZWc
FYI LTC Bill Koski CW5 (Join to see) MSG Brad Sand SGM Steve Wettstein SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" PO1 John Miller SP5 Robert Ruck SPC (Join to see) PO3 Steven Sherrill SN Greg Wright Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey TSgt Joe C. LTC Stephen C.SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
"Growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River fueled the imagination of a young boy named Samuel Clemens. The world would later know him as Mark Twain."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywea-wkGZWc
FYI LTC Bill Koski CW5 (Join to see) MSG Brad Sand SGM Steve Wettstein SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" PO1 John Miller SP5 Robert Ruck SPC (Join to see) PO3 Steven Sherrill SN Greg Wright Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey TSgt Joe C. LTC Stephen C.SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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Brilliant man, great writer and incredible sense of humor and the ability to see and address the absurd.
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