1835/11/30 |
Assisted by Mrs Edmund Damrell and her daughter Eliza, Jane Clemens gives birth to Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri. |
Born |
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Mark Twain Birthplace Cabin |
Florida |
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Mark Twain's Birthday |
1844/00/00 |
Clemens' family move into the house now known as Mark Twain Boyhood Home, 1843-1844 |
Home |
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Mark Twain Boyhood Home |
Hannibal |
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1845/00/00 |
Paying a tuition of 25 cents a week, Samuel Clemens attends a private school run by Elizabeth Horr, a New England lady of middles age with New England ways and principles, in a small log cabin at the south end of Main Street. |
Education |
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Benjamin Horr House |
Hannibal |
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1847/00/00 |
Poverty forces Clemens family to move out of Mark Twain Boyhood Home and move in with Dr Grant's family above Grant's Drug Store, 1846-1847. |
Home Locale |
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Mark Twain Historic District |
Hannibal |
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1847/03/24 |
Judge Clemens, Samuel's father, passes away. The family moves back to Boyhood Home. |
Home |
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Mark Twain Boyhood Home |
Hannibal |
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1861/06/15 |
While Sam Clemens visits Hannibal with fellow river pilots, Absalom Grimes and Sam Bowen, the three are ordered to report to Union Gen John B Grey. They sail down river on the riverboat HANNIBAL CITY to St Louis and report as instructed. |
Life |
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Hannibal |
Missouri |
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1861/06/15 |
Gen Grey ask the Grimes, Clemens and Bowen to pilot boats for the Union on the Missouri River. When Grey steps out of the office to speak to two pretty young ladies waiting for him, the trio slip through a side door and make their way back to Hannibal. |
Life |
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1861/06/17 |
At Col John Ralls' house, Clemens takes the oath of allegiance to the Missouri State Guard, pledging to support both the state and Federal constitutions. He does not swear allegiance to the Confederate government. |
Life |
The Private History of a Campaign That Failed |
New London |
Missouri |
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1861/07/00 |
Clemens and his group roam Ralls County dressed in civilian clothing, camping with blankets and quilts from home. 2nd Lt Clemens carries a squirrel rifle, frying pan and an umbrella. The unit consit of a captain, 1st Lt, a sergeant and 3 or 4 privates. |
Life |
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1861/07/03 |
The Union commander, Colonel R F Smith of the 16th Illinois headquartered in Palmyra issues an amnesty offer. Clemens, suffering from a boil and sprained ankle, quits the Missouri State Guard. |
Military |
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1861/07/26 |
By July 26, Sam and his older brother Orion Clemens are journeying to Nevada. |
Life |
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1861/08/14 |
Clemens Brothers arrive in Carson City, Nevada. Sam works for his brother Orion, Secretary to the new government of the Territory of Nevada. |
Life |
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1862/07/06 |
Writing under the name of Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens begins publishing news stories in the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. As the local Editor of the Virginia City Enterprise, he made $40.00 a week. |
Work |
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Virginia City |
Nevada |
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1862/09/00 |
Envious of Mackay's brokerage office in a new frame house on C St, Twain offers to trade his job as editor with Mackay's mining business. Mackay asked what the paper paid, and after Twain replies $40 a week, Mackay said his business wasn't worth that. |
Life |
Mark Twain's Autobiography |
Virginia City |
Nevada |
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1865/00/00 |
Mark Twain hears the story of the jumping frog contest. |
Visitor |
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County |
Angels Hotel |
Angels Camp |
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1866/03/00 |
Mark Twain visits the slopes of Diamond head Creator |
Journalist |
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii |
Diamond Head State Monument |
Honolulu |
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1866/03/00 |
Mark Twain works as correspondent to the Sandwich Islands for the Sacramento Union newspaper, March to June 1866 |
Journalist |
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii |
Honolulu |
Hawaii |
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1866/06/03 |
Mark Twain visits the Kilauea Crater on assignment from the Sacramento union |
Journalist |
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii |
Kilauea Crater |
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park |
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1866/06/03 |
Mark Twain stays at the 1866 Volcano House |
Journalist |
Roughing It (book) |
Old Volcano House No 42 |
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park |
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1866/06/03 |
Mark Twain stays at the 1866 Volcano House |
Journalist |
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii |
Old Volcano House No 42 |
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park |
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1867/00/00 |
Mark Twain visits Mount Tabor. "It stands solitary .. in a silent plain .. a desolation ... Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country" |
Visitor |
The Innocents Abroad |
Mount Tabor |
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1867/00/00 |
Mark Twain takes the train from Marseille to Paris for the 1867 Paris Exhibition. |
Visitor |
The Innocents Abroad |
Paris |
Ile-de-France |
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1867 Exposition Universelle |
1867/00/00 |
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - published |
Author |
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County |
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1869/00/00 |
Mark Twain visits the Blue Grotto, writing about the sea cave in his book, "The Innocents Abroad". |
Visitor |
The Innocents Abroad |
The Blue Grotto |
Capri |
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1869/00/00 |
The Innocents Abroad - published |
Author |
The Innocents Abroad |
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1870/02/02 |
Olivia Langdon marries Samuel Clemens in Elmira, New York |
Groom |
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Marriage of Olivia Langdon and Samuel Clemens |
1872/00/00 |
Roughing It - published |
Author |
Roughing It (book) |
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1873/00/00 |
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today - published |
Author |
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today |
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1874/00/00 |
Mark Twain enjoys writing in a new octagonal study built expressly for him about 200 yards (180 m) from the main house. |
Home |
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Quarry Farm |
Elmira |
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1874/00/00 |
Mark Twain and the Clemens family make a home at their newly competed residence in House, Hartford. |
Home |
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Mark Twain House |
Hartford |
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1874/11/00 |
Purporting to be the true story of a former slave, "A True Story" by Mark Twain appears in the Atlantic Monthly. |
Author |
A True Story (Twain true tale) |
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1876/00/00 |
"Old Times on the Mississippi", where Mark Twain describes his apprentices as a cub Mississippi riverboat pilot, is published. |
Author |
Life on the Mississippi |
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1876/06/00 |
Mark Twain's "Recent Carnival of Crime" is published in the Atlantic Monthly. |
Author |
Recent Carnival of Crime (short story) |
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1876/12/00 |
Written by Mark Twain, American Publishing Company publishes "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" with illustrations by True Williams. |
Author |
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
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Beginnings of Bad Boy Literature |
1879/00/00 |
Francis Davis Millet and Elizabeth Merrill marry in Montmartre, Paris, France |
Best man |
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Montmartre, FR |
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Marriage of Elizabeth Merrill and Francis Davis Millet |
1880/00/00 |
Samuel Clemens stands the daylight watches between Cairo and New Orleans, his last year as a Riverboat pilot. |
Work |
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1880/00/00 |
A Tramp Abroad - published |
Author |
A Tramp Abroad |
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1881/00/00 |
The Prince and the Pauper - published |
Author |
The Prince and the Pauper |
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1883/00/00 |
"Two Views of The Mississippi" by Mark Twain is published. |
Author |
Two Views of The Mississippi (essay) |
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1883/00/00 |
Incorporating "Old Times on the Mississippi", "Life on the Mississippi" is published in the United States and Great Britain. It is the first typewritten manuscript submitted to a publisher. |
Author |
Life on the Mississippi |
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1884/12/10 |
"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is published in United Kingdom and Canada by Chatto and Windus. |
Author |
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (book) |
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Beginnings of Bad Boy Literature |
1885/00/00 |
"The Private History of a Campaign that Failed" is published The Century magazine. |
Author |
The Private History of a Campaign That Failed |
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1885/02/11 |
The Union Library Association host Samuel Clemens and George Cable at First Congregational. Clemens reads "King Solomon" from 'Huckleberry Finn', "The Tragic Tale of a Fishwife" from 'A Tramp Abroad', "A Trying Situation" and other shorter items. |
Presenter |
A Tramp Abroad |
Congregational Church of Christ |
Oberlin |
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1885/02/11 |
The Union Library Association host Samuel Clemens and George Cable at First Congregational. Clemens reads "King Solomon" from 'Huckleberry Finn', "The Tragic Tale of a Fishwife" from 'A Tramp Abroad', "A Trying Situation" and other shorter items. |
Presenter |
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (book) |
Congregational Church of Christ |
Oberlin |
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1885/02/13 |
Oberlin Weekly News review of the Twain-Cable lecture: Twain fully met the expectations of his many admiring readers.... Cable, though not as universally known to the audience as Twain, was received with high expectations. |
Entertainer |
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Oberlin |
Ohio |
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1889/00/00 |
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - published |
Author |
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (book) |
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1889/05/24 |
Mark Twain composes a birthday letter for Walt Whitman's 70 Birthday party to be held in Camden, New Jersey. "You have lived just the seventy years which are greatest in the world's history and richest in benefit and advancement to its peoples." MT |
Life |
|
Mark Twain House |
Hartford |
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Walt Whitman's 70th Birthday Dinner |
1894/00/00 |
Fairhaven Town Hall dedication ceremony |
Key Note Speaker |
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Fairhaven Town Hall |
Fairhaven |
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1894/00/00 |
Pudd'nhead Wilson - published |
Author |
Pudd'nhead Wilson |
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1894/00/00 |
Tom Sawyer Abroad - published |
Author |
Tom Sawyer Abroad |
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1896/00/00 |
Tom Sawyer, Detective - published |
Author |
Tom Sawyer, Detective |
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1897/06/20 |
William Hearst hires Mark Twain to report on Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Essays published in the San Francisco Examiner, June 20 and 23. |
Reporter |
Queen Victoria's Jubilee |
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Queen Victoria's Jubilee |
1899/12/00 |
"The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg" by Mark Twain is published in Harper's Monthly. |
Author |
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg |
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1900/00/00 |
Mark Twain writes "The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated" as a parody of American involvement in the Philippine-American War. |
Author |
The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Updated |
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1901/00/00 |
Mark Twain with his wife and daughter stays at Hotel Earlington in New York City. |
Guest |
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Radio Wave Building |
Manhattan NYC |
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1902/06/06 |
For about 15 minutes Mark Twain pilots the steamboat MARK TWAIN on the Mississippi. After the leadsman calls out "Ma-a-a-ark twa-a-a-a-ain", Twain replies: That's good enough water for any one, you couldn't improve it without putting in a little whisky. |
Dignitary |
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Laclede's Landing |
City of St Louis |
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1902/06/06 |
Twain unveils a tablet as Eugene Field's birthplace. Later, having been told that Eugene's birthplace was in dispute, he replied: Never mind. It is of no real consequence whether it is his birthplace or not. A rose in any other garden will bloom as sweet. |
Dignitary |
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Eugene Field House |
City of St Louis |
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1903/00/00 |
"Was it Heaven? Or Hell?" by Mark Twain is published. |
Author |
Was it Heaven? Or Hell? (Short Story) |
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1904/12/00 |
"A Dog's Tale" wages its way into Harper's Magazine. |
Author |
A Dog's Tale |
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1906/01/23 |
Booker T Washington and others including Mark Twain, Joseph H Choate, and Robert Curtis Ogden lecture at Carnegie Hall in honor of Tuskegee Institute's Silver Jubilee. |
Speaker |
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Carnegie Hall |
New York City |
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Tuskegee Institute's Silver Jubilee |
1906/04/19 |
Mark Twain gives a "Farewell" lecture at Carnegie Hall for the benefit of the Robert Fulton Memorial Association. Seats cost $1.50, $1.00 and $.50. He begins the lecture with a plea for donations for the citizens of San Francisco. |
Speaker |
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Carnegie Hall |
New York City |
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Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake |
1906/05/00 |
Mark Twain begins renting Mountain View Farm in Dublin for the summer. As of 1983, about 1000 feet uphill are the remains of the 'Mark Twain' cabin, of which only the chimney still stands. |
Visitor |
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Mountain View Farm |
Dublin |
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1907/04/27 |
Henry Huttleston Rogers, his son Harry and Mark Twain arrive at the Jamestown Exposition on Rogers' steam yacht Kanawha, one of the country's largest and fastest private yachts. |
Speaker |
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Jamestown Exposition Site Buildings |
Norfolk |
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Jamestown Exposition |
1907/04/28 |
Mark Twain stays at the Cassell-McRae House (108 London St, built c 1829) while he is at the Jamestown Exposition. |
Visitor |
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Downtown Portsmouth Historic District (Virginia) |
Portsmouth |
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Jamestown Exposition |
1908/07/00 |
Mark Twain speaks at the dedication of Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial, held at the Portsmouth Music Hall. "Aldrich's life was cheerful and happy. I knew him 40 years. He was one of the brightest men it has ever been my pleasure to know." |
Dignitary |
|
Portsmouth Music Hall, Portsmouth |
Portsmouth, NH |
|
Birth of American Historic Preservation |
1908/07/00 |
Thomas Bailey Aldrich Memorial is dedicated. This is the first historic house museum in Portsmouth and one of the first in the country to be restored to a specific period. |
Dignitary |
|
Aldrich House, Portsmouth |
Portsmouth, NH |
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Birth of American Historic Preservation |
1910/04/21 |
Mark Twain dies from a heart attack on at the age of seventy-four. |
Died |
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Death of Mark Twain |
1916/00/00 |
"The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm" by Mark Twain is published. |
Author |
The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm (Short Story) |
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1935/00/00 |
Slovenly Peter - published |
Author |
Slovenly Peter |
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