Mark Twain

Mark Twain was born as Samuel Clemens in 1835 on the banks of a river in
Hannibal, Missouri.

Mark Twain is mainly known as the author of many beloved
children's books such as The Prince and the Pauper, Tom Sawyer, and The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

But Mark Twain isn't famous just because he
wrote some books for kids. It is because of the quality of his stories that
he is on a Famous Person stamp.

All the stories Mark Twain wrote are filled with adventure and mystery.
You've probably heard of many since they are published in several languages.
There are also many movies that were made based on Mark Twain's novels.

Just in case you haven't heard of Mr. Twain's books, The Prince and the Pauper is
about a poor boy and a prince who looked the same and switched places causing
great confusion.

Tom Sawyer is about a boy who is growing up on the
Mississippi River and comes up with all sorts of ideas like tricking people
into whitewashing a fence for him.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a book on Tom's friend, Huck, who has many adventures on the Mississippi.

They were all published in the late nineteenth century and were loved right away.
Because, of his great ability to write, Yale University in America and Oxford
University in England both awarded Mr. Twain honorary degrees.

Not only are Mark Twain's books exciting, his real life was too. He had
many jobs after he left school when he was 12 years old. He was a steamboat
pilot, a miner, a prospector, a news reporter, and even a Confederate soldier
for a short time.

Mark Twain was kind too. When his brother died trying to
save others, he modeled one of the characters in Tom Sawyer after his
brother.

Despite all his success, Mark Twain became depressed at the end of his
life and died in 1910 after becoming one of the most well known writers of
all time.

By: Cindy