Mark Twain's 176th Birthday

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Today, google came up with the theme of Mark Twain's 176th Birthday.
Images appear as wide with our computers, wow google doodle images appear very long these days.
Who is Mark Twain?

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel."

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which became very popular and brought nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling.

He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

He lacked financial acumen, and, though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility.

Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age," and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."

Biography of Mark Twain:

Born                          Samuel Langhorne Clemens
                                 November 30, 1835(1835-11-30)
                                 Florida, Missouri, U.S.
Died                         April 21, 1910 (1910-04-21) (aged 74)
                                 Redding, Connecticut, U.S.
Pen name                  Mark Twain
Occupation               Writer, lecturer
Nationality                American
Genres                      Fiction, historical fiction, children's literature, non-fiction, travel literature, satire,
                                 essay, philosophical literature, social commentary, literary criticism
Notable work(s)        Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Spouse(s)                  Olivia Langdon Clemens (m. 1870–1904) «start: (1870)–end+1: (1905)»
                                 "Marriage: Olivia Langdon Clemens to Mark Twain"
Children                     Langdon, Susy, Clara, Jean