mark twain docx

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MARK TWAIN

(SAMUEL CLEMENS)

BY

MATTHEW DENNIS

Prepared for Mr. Naylor

Winget Park Elementary

Fourth Grade Wax Museum Project

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The person I chose to do my wax museum project on is Samuel Clements. You might know him better

as Mark Twain. Mark Twain was best known for the books that he wrote. Two of his most famous

books were, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Samuel Clemens was born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. His parents were John and Jane

Clemens. Samuel Clemens had 6 brothers and sisters. He spent most of his childhood in Hannibal,

Missouri. Living in a small town on the Mississippi River inspired many of the characters and places

that he later wrote about.

When Samuel Clemens was about 12 years he had to quit school when his father died. He got a job as

printers helper. He was paid not with money, but with food for his family. When he was 15, he got a

job as a printer and sometimes writing for the Hannibal Western Union, a small local newspaper.

When he was 21, he began to learn how to pilot a steamboat on the Mississippi River, which was his

dream job. But that job only lasted 4 years due to the beginning of the Civil War. Samuel Clemens

joined the Confederate Army, but was only in it for a couple of weeks before his volunteer unit

disbanded.

Looking for his next adventure, he headed to Nevada and California. He eventually began work as awriter for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. It was during this time that he adopted the name we

know him by, Mark Twain, steamboat slang for twelve feet of water.

In 1867, he took a 5 month cruise to Europe and wrote about the sights that he saw along the way.

This became his first bestseller, The Innocents Abroad, which was published in 1869.

Hoping to get rich, support his mother and improve his social standing in 1870 he married Olivia

Langdon. She was the daughter of a rich New York coal merchant and he hoped that she would

change his reputation.

They had 4 children, 3 daughters Susy, Clara and Jean and son, Langdon who died when he was 2

months old. His daughter Susy, died at age 24 and Jean died when she was 29. His relationship with

Clara was not very good and they had many disagreements.

Lucky for us, Olivia was not able to change Sam and he continued writing stories inspired by his

childhood and life. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published in 1876. He began writing a sequel,

but it was postponed and another book, The Prince and the Pauper, an attempt to be respected by his

friends, was published in 1881. In 1884, Huckleberry Finn was finally published, but his wife did not like

it.

He continued writing books and even owned a publishing company, but it eventually went broke.

Appearing as Mark Twain, the later part of his life was filled with many honors including degrees from

Oxford and Yale. He was considered the most famous American of the late 19th century and drew large

crowds where he appeared. He was also one of the most famous celebrities in the world.

After his wife Olivia died in 1904, Mark Twain became very bitter in the later part of his life. He quit

appearing in public and eventually began to lose his memory.

Samuel Clemens died on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut at age 75. He had always said that

he was born during a visit by Halleys Comet and that he would go out with it. He died the day afterits

return visit.

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Bibliography

http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/index.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain

http://www.biography.com/people/mark-twain-9512564