Some Interesting Facts About Mark Twain

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He is best known and loved for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  

1. Mark Twain was of Scotish-Irish, Cornish, and English decent.
2. Twain only had a 5th grade education. He left school to work as an apprentice printer after his father’s death in 1847.
3. He loved cats. Growing up he had over 19 cats. Some of the creative names he gave them were Satan, Sour Mash, and Sin.
4. He was a very fragile infant and a sickly child.
5. Only three of his siblings survive childhood.
6. He had many financial troubles during his lifetime and at one point even went bankrupt.
7. His favorite place to write was in bed.
8. He used the name ‘Josh’ as his pen name up until 1863.
9. He was an avid traveler. Travelling to places like India, Australia, Canada, and many places in Europe.
10. His final piece of work was his autobiography.

He also had a way with words. Here are some quotes by Mark Twain:

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

“A human being has an instinctual desire to possess more good things than he requires.”

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

Mark Twain had a life full of highs and lows. He also inspired, educated and entertained millions of readers. He has come to be known as the Father of American Literature.