Mark Twain was an American writer and lecturer. He was also a publisher as well as an entrepreneur. He was popular for his humor and was once referred to as ‘the father of American Literature. Twain’s written work mainly focused on fundamental issues such as racism, education, and class barriers. He is popular for writing the first-ever American first Novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’ The following are some of the most interesting facts about Mark Twain.
1. He was a steamboat pilot and also worked as a miner
Mark worked as a miner in Virginia City after leaving for the west with his brother to avoid fighting in the war. Mark described the job as hard and strenuous and later resigned. He was later employed to work for a writing firm in Virginia City; his writing career began.
2. The adventures of Huckleberry’ was written by Mark in seven years
Mark began writing this great novel in 1876, after which he took a break since he was still not pleased with the story’s progress. Later on, Mark finished the book in 1883 after being inspired by a friend.
3. Mark Twain was a school dropout
After his father’s death, Twain had to drop out of school. He was employed as a printer’s apprentice in a printing firm. However, dropping out of school did not kill his dream of acquiring an education. Mark would spend most of his leisure time in a library to read books and journals.
4. He wasn’t expected to survive as a baby
Mark was born two months prematurely and remained sick until he was seven years old. From then on, he gained strength and showed momentum to live. He was the sixth born in a family of seven children. Mark was only eleven when his father died, aged forty years.
5. His name was derived from a steamboat
Twain was first named Sam Clemens after he was born. However, Mark Twain was then given to him, meaning ‘second mark,’ used by crews of Mississippi River steamboats.
6. He did not support formal education
Though Twain knew that education was vital for the growth and development of a human being, he did not like formal education. He was not even educated formally beyond elementary school. According to Twain, the school was not the same as learning and education. He was very critical of the education system in the US. He acquired education through reading materials in libraries whenever he had free time.
7. Most of his religious writings were published after his death
Twain had been very critical about organized religious communities. He was believed to be a member of the Presbyterian Church. He, however, avoided publishing his opinions on religious beliefs during his lifetime. His family suppressed his anti-religious writings to keep him from controversy.
8. Mark loved science and inventions
He invented a self- pasting scrapbook which became a success. He sold more than twenty thousand of these self- pasting scrapbooks and made quite a fortune from it. Other inventions by him were, however, not that successful.
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