Mark Twain - 30Nov2011

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "the Great American Novel."

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", which became very popular and brought nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling.

He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

He lacked financial acumen, and, though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility.

Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age," and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."

馬克·吐溫（Mark Twain，1835年11月30日－1910年4月21日），原名塞姆·朗赫恩·克列門斯（Samuel Langhorne Clemens），是美國的幽默大師、小說家、作家，亦是著名演說家。其幽默、機智與名氣，堪稱美國最知名人士之一。其交友廣闊，威廉·迪安·豪威爾斯、布克·華盛頓、尼古拉·特斯拉、海倫·凱勒、亨利·羅傑諸君，皆為其友。海倫·凱勒曾言：「我喜歡馬克吐溫——誰會不喜歡他呢？即使是上帝，亦會鍾愛他，賦予其智慧，並於其心靈裡繪畫出一道愛與信仰的彩虹。」威廉·福克納稱馬克·吐溫為「第一位真正的美國作家，我們都是繼承他而來」。其於1910年去世，年七十五，安葬於紐約州艾瑪拉。

wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain
中文 : http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A9%AC%E5%85%8B%C2%B7%E5%90%90%E6%B8%A9