What is Mark Twain?
{{Infobox writer | name = Mark Twain | image = Mark Twain 1907.jpg | imagesize = 200px | caption = Twain in 1909 | birth_name = Samuel Langhorne Clemens | pseudonym = Mark Twain | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1835|11|30}} | birth_place = [[Florida, Missouri]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1910|4|21|1835|11|30}} | death_place = [[Redding, Connecticut]], U.S. | occupation = [[Writer]] | nationality = American | signature = Mark Twain Signatures-2.svg | notableworks = ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]]'' }}[[File:Mark Twain at Stormfield (1909).webm|thumb|Mark Twain (1909)]] '''Samuel Langhorne Clemens'''<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/samuel_langhorne_clemens/index.html |title=Mark Twain|work=[[New York Times]].com |accessdate=13 February 2014}}</ref> (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), more widely known as '''Mark Twain''', was an American writer. He was born in [[Florida, Missouri]]. He worked mainly for [[newspaper]]s and as a [[steamboat]] pilot on the [[Mississippi River]] before he became a writer. He married in 1870, and raised his family in [[Hartford, Connecticut]]. In later life he invested and lost the money that his writing had made, and toured the world giving [[lecture]]s that brought him enough money to pay his debt and recover his fortune. Clemens was best known for his works in [[fiction]], and especially for his use of humour. His first published story, in 1865, was ''The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.'' ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' is considered by many to be Clemens' best work. This story of a white boy who helps a black man escape [[slavery]] in the [[southern United States]] is known for its humanity. Clemens's style was usually informal and [[humor]]ous. This made him different from many important 19th century writers whose books he disliked. For example, he greatly disliked [[Jane Austen]]'s works, su