1835 – 1910
Mark Twain
The funniest storyteller of the Mississippi River.
The Story
His real name was Samuel Clemens, and he grew up beside the wide Mississippi River.
He worked on steamboats and loved to hear the pilots shout 'Mark twain!' — meaning safe water.
He took that as his writing name and wrote silly, wise books like 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Huckleberry Finn.'
His stories were full of runaway adventures, cave treasures, and rafts on the river.
People all over the world still laugh and think when they read his books.