Mark Twain, born Samuel née Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. The sixth child of John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton, Twain lived in the town of Florida until the age of four, at which point his family moved to Hannibal, also located in Missouri.
Twain was a mischievous child, and likely served as his own prototype for the character of Tom Sawyer. Though he was plagued by poor health in his early years, by age nine he had already learned to smoke, led a small band of pranksters, and had developed an aversion to school. When he was 12, Twain's father passed away, forcing the young boy to leave school and provide for his family; he became an...
