Sam Clemens Through Time
BOYHOOD 1835-1853
| 1835 | Sam Clemens born on Nov. 30 in Florida, Missouri, to parents John and Jane Clemens.
| 1835-39 | Lives in Florida.
| 1839 | John Clemens moves family to Hannibal, Missouri.
| 1839-53 | Lives in Hannibal.
| 1845 | Future wife Olivia Langdon born in Elmira, N.Y.
| 1847 | Attends John Dawson's school; works for Hannibal Gazette. John Clemens dies.
| 1849 | Stops attending school regularly.
| 1851 | Works as printer for brother Orion Clemens' newspaper, the Hannibal Journal.
| 1853 | Leaves Hannibal; works as printer in St. Louis, New York, and Philadelphia. |
THE MISSISSIPPI YEARS 1857-61 | 1854-56 | After visiting the East Coast, Twain lives in St. Louis; Keokuk, Iowa, where Orion now lives; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Works as a printer; writes travel letters.
| 1857 | Works and lives as a cub pilot on Mississippi River steamboats.
| 1858 | Brother Henry Clemens dies in an explosion on the steamboat Pennsylvania.
| 1859 | Receives steamboat pilot license. Works as a pilot for two years. |
THE WESTERN YEARS 1861-66. |
1861 | In Hannibal, forms the voluntary militia group Marion Rangers with 14 young men; after two weeks of training, the unit disbands. Clemens goes to Nevada with his brother Orion, who is appointed secretary of a new territory. Clemens clerks for the Nevada Territorial Legislature.
| 1862 | Works for Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.
| 1863 | Lives in Virginia City; adopts pen name Mark Twain.
| 1864 | Moves to San Francisco; works for San Francisco Call.
| 1865 | Mines at Angel's Camp, California; writes for San Francisco newspapers.
| 1866 | Travels to Hawaii, writes travel correspondence to Sacramento Union and Alta California. Gives first lecture about the Sandwich Islands; goes on 16-engagement lecture tour through California and Nevada. Leaves San Francisco for New York.
| THE INNOCENT ABROAD AND ALONG THE EAST COAST 1867-1870
| 1867 | Lives in New York City. Publishes first book, The Celebrated Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County. Sails on the Quaker City to Europe and the Mideast (June to November); writes travel letters about the voyage to the Alta California. Meets future wife Olivia Langon. Moves to Washington, D.C., to be private secretary to Senator William Stewart.
| 1868 | Lives in Washington; travels and lectures in California and Nevada; moves between New York, Hartford, and Elmira, N.Y. Becomes engaged to Olivia Langdon.
| 1869 | Conducts a lecture tour through Midwest. Buys interest in the Buffalo Express. Publishes Innocents Abroad, his account of the Quaker City excursion. Goes on a 45-engagement lecture tour.
| SETTLED DOWN 1870-1891
| 1870 | Marries Olivia Langon in Elmira, N.Y.; lives in Buffalo, N.Y.; works for the Buffalo Express as an editor and writer.
| 1871 | puts interest in Express and his Buffalo home up for sale; moves to Elmira with family. Begins five-month lecture tour through the East in October.
| THE HARTFORD GENTRY 1872-91
| 1872 | Moves to home in Hartford, Connecticut. Publishes Roughing It, an account of his early years in Nevada and California. Travels to England for three months. Daughter Susy Clemens is born.
| 1873 | Signs deed to Nook Farm property in Hartford; joins Monday Evening Club. Travels to England with family (May-November); meets Robert Browning, Ivan Turgenev, Lewis Caroll, and others in London; lectures in England.
| 1874 | Daughter Clara Clemens born.
| 1875 | Publishes Tom Sawyer.
| 1878 | Contracts with Elisha Bliss for another book about Europe; travels with family to Europe (April 1878-September 1879). Visits Germany, the Swiss and French Alps, and Italy.
| 1879 | In Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands, and England, before returning to Hartford.
| 1880 | Publishes A Tramp Abroad. Daughter Jean Clemens is born.
| 1881 | Publishes The Prince and the Pauper.
| 1883 | Publishes Life on the Mississippi.
| 1884 | Lectures in Midwest and East. Founds Charles W. Webster & Co. publishing house.
| 1885 | Celebrates 50th birthday. Publishes Huckleberry Finn. Webster & Co. publishes U.S. Grant's Memoirs.
| 1886 | Forms partnership with James Paige to develop Paige Compositor.
| 1889 | Publishes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Signs a new agreement with Paige.
| 1890 | Buys all rights to Paige Compositor. Mother Jane Clemens and mother-in-law Olivia Langdon die.
| 1891 | Stops payments on Paige Compositor. Ends residence in Hartford, shuts down the Clemens home there, returns with family to Europe. | FLEEING TO EUROPE AND THE EQUATOR 1891-1900
| 1892 | In Germany, France, and Italy; lives near Florence, Italy. Dines with Kaisar Wilhelm II. Publishes The American Claimant.
| 1893 | Temporarily returns to America for business. Moves family to Berlin. Stays in New York City (September-March 1894).
| 1894 | Travels between family in France and New York City. Gives frequent public appearances in New York. Webster & Co. goes into bankruptcy. Paige Compositor tested at Chicago Herald, and proves a failure as practical equipment. Publishes Pudd'nhead Wilson.
| 1895 | Contracts for around-the-world lecture tour, and makes publishing agreement with Harper & Bros. for a book about the tour. Visits British Colombia, Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.
| 1896 | Visits and lectures in India, South Africa, and England. Joan of Arc is published. Daugther Susy Clemens dies in Hartford, age 23.
| 1897 | Lives in London, Switzerland, and Vienna. Publishes Following the Equator, about the round-the-world tour. Orion Clemens dies.
| 1898 | Lives in Vienna and other parts of Austria. Pays off creditors.
| 1899 | Visits Budapest, Prague, London, and Sweden. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is published.
| 1900 | Lives in London, before moving to New York City.
| THE NEW YORK YEARS 1900-08
| 1901 | Makes many public appearances in New York City. Moves to Riverdale, N.Y.
| 1902 | Lives in Riverdale. Visits Florida, the Caribbean, and the Midwest, including Hannibal and St. Louis. Publishes A Double-Barrelled Detective Story. Livy Clemens becomes seriously ill.
| 1903 | Takes family to villa in Florence, Italy (November-June 1904). Livy's illness worsens.
| 1904 | Livy dies in Florence. Returns to live in New York City. Daughter Clara has nervous breakdown.
| 1905 | Lives in New York. Dines with Theodore Roosevelt at White House. Celebrates 70th birthday. Publishes Eve's Diary.
| 1906 | In New York, Washington, D.C., and Dublin, New Hampshire. Addresses congressional committees on copyrights. Publishes The $30,000 Bequest, What Is Man?, and Chapters From My Autobiography. A.B. Paine joins Clemens household to write Sam's biography.
| 1907 | Lives in New York City and Tuxedo Park, N.Y. Makes last trip to England; receives honorary degree from Oxford University. Publishes Christian Science. |
THE FINAL YEARS 1908-1910
| 1908 | Visits Bermuda. Moves to his last home, "Stormfield," in Redding, Connecticut. Organizes "Angelfish Club."
| l909 | Lives at Stormfield. Delivers his last public speech. Diagnosed with heart disease. Publishes Is Shakespeare Dead?, Captain Stormfield. Clara Clemens marries Ossip Gabrilowitsch. Jean Clemens dies at Stormfield.
| 1910 | Visits Bermuda on last trip outside U.S. Dies on April 21 at Stormfield. Buried at Elmira's Woodlawn Cemetary. | | |||||||||
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