-
-
Samuel Clemons Born
Samuel Langhorne Clemens is born in Florida, Missouri, the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. -
Period: to
Mark Twain's lifespan
-
Death of Twain's Father
Samuel's father John Clemens dies, forcing the family into financial hardship. -
Twain Takes Work as Printer
At the age of 15, Samuel leaves school and goes to work as a printer in Hannibal. -
Death of Twain's Brother
Twain's youngest brother Henry is killed tragically at the age of 20 in an explosion on the steamboat Pennsylvania. Henry had been training to become a steamboat pilot, at Twain's encouragement. Twain, devastated by his brother's death, feels responsible for it for the rest of his life. -
Twain Meets Future Wife
Twain is introduced to Olivia "Livy" Langdon, the sister of a friend. He is instantly smitten. -
Twain Weds, Fathers First Child
Twain marries Olivia Langdon, who becomes an important editor of his work. Their son Langdon is born later that year. -
Huck Finn
In the span of less than a year, Twain publishes both his greatest fiction and non-fiction works: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a biography of President Ulysses S. Grant. -
Death of Susy Clemens
Twain's 24-year-old daughter Susy dies of meningitis in the U.S. while Twain is lecturing in Europe. Twain, who was particularly close to his oldest daughter, is devastated. He never fully recovers from her death, which marks the end of his most successful period as a writer. -
Death of Mark Twain
Mark Twain dies at the age of 74 at his home in Redding, Connecticut.
