| Timeline |
| 1835 |
Born Samual Langhorne Clemens on 30 November in Florida, Missouri |
| 1839 |
Family moves to Hannibal, Missouri |
| 1847 |
Father dies |
| 1848 |
Apprenticed to Joseph Ament of Missouri Courier newspaper |
| 1853 |
Works as a journeyman printer in St. Louis, New York and Philadelphia |
| 1857 |
Apprentices as river boat pilot |
| 1861 |
Civil War breaks out, serves two weeks with Confederate Marion Rangers |
| 1861 |
Travels the West until 1867, reporting and writing for newspapers and magazines |
| 1866 |
Travels to Hawaii, reports on shipwreck of the Hornet |
| 1867 |
Travels as correspondent to Europe and the Holy Land |
| 1868 |
Lectures across the United States |
| 1869 |
The Innocents Abroad published |
| 1870 |
Marries Olivia Langdon |
| 1871 |
Moves to the Hartford, Conn. |
| 1872 |
Roughing It published |
| 1873 |
The Gilded Age published, invents and patents Mark Twain’s Self-Pasting Scrapbook |
| 1876 |
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer published |
| 1880 |
A Tramp Abroad published |
| 1882 |
The Prince and the Pauper published |
| 1883 |
Life on the Mississippi published |
| 1885 |
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant published |
| 1889 |
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court published |
| 1891 |
Moves to Europe because of financial difficulties |
| 1892 |
Extracts from Adam's Diary published |
| 1894 |
Pudd'nhead Wilson published |
| 1894 |
Bankruptcy |
| 1895 |
Worldwide lecture tour undertaken to improve finances |
| 1896 |
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc published |
| 1896 |
What is Man, published anonymously |
| 1900 |
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories published, in England to argue copyright law before House of Lords |
| 1901 |
Honorary doctorate degree from Yale University |
| 1902 |
Honorary Doctorate Degree from University of Missouri |
| 1904 |
Wife dies |
| 1905 |
Extracts from Eve's Diary published |
| 1907 |
Honorary degree from Oxford University |
| 1910 |
Dies 21 April |
