Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri

Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain was born two months prematurely in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835, when Halley's Comet streaked across the night skies.  He was the sickly sixth of John Marshall and Jane Moffit Clemens.  

The family moved to the Mississippi River town of Hannibal, where the mischievous Sam did his chores, went to school, played with neighborhood children, swam, and fished in the River.

The Clemens Home & the fence

that Tom Sawyer convinced

other boys to paint.

Youtube Link

J.M. Clemens Justice of

the Peace Office

Becky Thatcher's home

She is Tom Sawyer's first love.

After his father's death in 1847 and Sam left school to go to work.  He apprenticed and in print shops, occasionally wrote copy for several publications.  In 1857 Sam apprenticed as a Steamboat Pilot and earned his Pilot's license in 1859. 

Samuel Clemens at the 

Helm of a Steamboat

Samuel Clemens adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain (important in boat/ship navigation: reporting that the water that is two fathoms deep).  

The Mark Twain takes visitors

for cruises along the River.

The Mississippi River 

flows south....

The prolific Novelist, Short Story Writer, Journalist, Humorist, and Lecturer returned to his life in Hannibal and the Mississippi River in his famous works: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and life on the Mississippi River.

Mark Twain's life was marked by enormous changes in America including  The Civil War, Reconstruction, advances in Industry, and Innovation.  His writings reflect our complex Country and his witty comments have become quotes that make us laugh, and think about how he saw the world.

Halley's Comet lit up the night skies when Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, died on April 21, 1910.