Mark Twain Facts | Facts about Mark Twains

What was Mark Twain's real name?

Mark Twain's real name was Samuel Clemens, and his pen name came from a riverboat term meaning water two fathoms deep.

Mark Twain was born in 1835 when Halley's Comet appeared, predicted he would die when it returned, and died in 1910, the year it came back.

Mark Twain worked as a licensed Mississippi River steamboat pilot.

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" has often been challenged or banned in schools.

Mark Twain was among the first authors to submit a typewritten manuscript to a publisher.

Mark Twain held three patents, including one for a self-pasting scrapbook.

Mark Twain's famous line about reports of his death is a popular misquote of what he actually wrote.

Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla were friends.

Mark Twain went bankrupt after investing in a failed typesetting machine and paid off his debts with a lecture tour around the world.

The Kennedy Center awards the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.