Christened as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was born on November 30, 1835 in the small river town of Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child to John Marshall Clemens Jane Lampton, Twain grew up amid small-town life in Florida until the age of four, when his family relocated to Hannibal in hopes of an improved living situation. He is considered to be one of the major authors of America fiction. Twain's varied works include novels, travel …showed first 75 words of 918 total…

…showed last 75 words of 918 total…literature (Encarta Mark Twain). Mark Twain died on April 21, 1910, having survived his children Langdon, Susan and Jean as well as his wife, Olivia. In his lifetime, he became a distinguished member of the literati, honored by Yale, the University of Missouri, and Oxford with literary degrees. Perhaps more than any other classic American writer, Mark Twain is seen not only as an author, but also as a personality that defined an era (Encarta Mark Twain).