On November 30, 1835, the small town of Florida, Missouri, had witnessed the birth of its most famous son, Samuel Langhorne Clemens aka Mark Twain. Samuel Langhorne Clemens was the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens. What makes Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) special is that he was born and died in the same years that Halley's Comet flew past Earth. About four years after Samuel's birth in 1839, the Clemens family moved to the town of Hannibal and his father had built a two-story frame house at 206 Hill Street in 1844. Samuel's father was a judge, merchant, lawyer and land speculator. . Samuel was kept at his home in Hannibal due to his poor health, but by the age of nine, Samuel had recovered from his illnesses. Mark Twain, also known as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was considered America's most famous literary icon (symbol) of his time. (http://www.cmgww.com) After Samuel recovered from his illnesses, he attended a private school in Hannibal. Jane Clemens became responsible for the house in 1847 when John Clemens died suddenly of pneumonia. The Clemens family “is now almost destitute (empty)” and was forced into several years of economic struggle – a fact that would change the career of Samuel L. Clemens aka Mark Twain. (http://www.biography.com) Shortly after the death of John Clemens, Samuel found employment as a printer's apprentice with Hannibal Courier who paid him with a small portion of food and in 1851, at the age of fifteen years old, Samuel had gotten a job as a printer, occasional writer, and editor at Hannibal Western Union, run by his older brother, Orion. At the age of seventeen, Samuel had left Hannibal for a job as a printer in St. Louis. (http://www.cmgww.com)In 1857...... middle of paper ......ven to them. We can research the late 19th century American mentality and make our own observations of history, as well as discover new connections, draw new conclusions, and gain a deeper understanding of this period and the people who lived there . As Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, once said: “Assuming is good, but discovering is better.” (http://www.marktwainhouse.org) Work Cited “Biography of Mark Twain”. Mark Twain's official website. Ed. Michel Nagel. CMG Worldwide, July 5, 2006. Web. May 20, 2014. “Samuel Langhorne Clemens.” Biography. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. May 21, 2014. Cash, David. “A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens‚ 1835-1910. “Welcome to the Mark Twain Home and Museum.” The Mark Twain Home and Museum, nd Web, May 20. 2014.