Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, was a powerful observer of human
nature. Born November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, Twain penned
several novels including two major classics of American literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
He was also a riverboat pilot, humorist, lecturer, journalist,
publisher and inventor. His mother, Jane Lampton, was born in Adair
County, Kentucky, where she met Clemens' father, who was clerking at a
law office in Columbia, Kentucky. They married and lived two years in
Columbia before moving to Tennessee and then on to Missouri.
Through his characters and stories, Twain single-handedly put American
literature on the map. Ernest Hemingway was quoted as saying, "All
modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called
Huckleberry Finn. American writing comes from that. There was nothing
before. There has been nothing as good since." Mark Twain lived many
lifetimes in one, traveled much and entertained multitudes with his
particular sense of humor. But that humor was borne on the back of great
sorrow and many personal tragedies. He was irreverent, irascible, and
had a razor-sharp wit. He is an American icon.
Kentucky Chautauqua Actor: Robert Brock
Funded project of the Kentucky Humanities Council. The Kentucky
Humanities Council, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the
National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. The Council is
supported by the National Endowment and by private contributions. We
are not a state agency, and we receive no state funds, but we are proud
partners with Kentucky's cultural, heritage, arts, and tourism agencies.
