A Life of Twain Trivia Quiz

Answer: Langhorne

Samuel Clemens' middle name was Langhorne. Mark Twain, as most people know, was his pen name. Popular belief is that his pen name came from marking off the depth of two fathoms, the mark of safe water, when navigating on the Mississippi River. Another belief is that in his wilder days he would have the bartender keep his drinking tab by saying "mark twain," which literally meant "mark two (twain is an archaic term for "two").
Langdon was the maiden name of his wife, Olivia.

Answer: No

Samuel Clemens was known for many things, his white suit, his wit, his cigars, and his handlebar mustache. He was an animal lover, but not to the point of being a vegetarian. However, he could be considered as an early animal rights advocate. The following is the quote attributed to Mark Twain and his beliefs on experimenting on animals: "I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't...The pain which it inflicts upon unconsenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further."

Answer: Sandwich Islands

As a young man he traveled to the Sandwich Islands, now known as the islands of Hawaii. As he arrived on the beach, he came across several native maidens who were swimming and had left their clothing on the beach. He made sure their clothes would not be stolen by sitting on them.

Answer: Olivia

Clemens first discovered his future wife as a result of looking at a photo of a friend's sister. Smitten, Clemens pursued Olivia, but her family thought he was a scoundrel. It took Twain two years before he could convince Olivia's father of his serious intent.

He had to produce friends who would speak well of him. He had a difficult time finding friends who would. They also thought him a bit of a scalawag.

Answer: 11

Clemens led the life of Huckleberry Finn prior to his father's death. After that he had to help support the family. He became a printer's apprentice, and left home, traveling abroad learning the trade. His love of the written word came from having to set words up in the printer's type.

He also rounded out his education by studying books in public libraries, perhaps receiving a better education than had he stayed in school.

Answer: Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass

Clemens used "Snodgrass" as an earlier pen name; however, "Josh" is the pen name that got him noticed by the publisher of the Virginia Territorial Enterprise and subsequently Clemens began writing for the Enterprise. (Thanks Michael for the heads up). Jim Smiley was a character in the famous Twain story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."

Answer: Missouri

Clemens was born in Florida--Florida, Missouri. His father moved the family to Hannibal, and Clemens grew up in that town, basing many of the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn on his childhood spent there.

Answer: false

Clemens loved adventure as a young man, having traveled all around the world. When he settled down to married life he enjoyed entertaining, be it with friends or his family. Being the life of the party, and socializing were part of what made Clemens larger than life.

Answer: South

Growing up in the South, Clemens naturally joined the Confederacy when it came to choosing sides. He and some friends formed a unit of fourteen friends, the Marion Rangers, which never saw any fighting, and in fact disbanded after two weeks. It's thought the prompt to disband came when they heard Grant was heading their way.

Some later joined a Confederate unit, but Clemens went to Nevada with his brother and tried his hand at mining. So, technically Clemens never fought for the South, though he did initially join up to fight with them. Later, he would oppose slavery, which drew heat from Southerners.

Answer: Clara

Clemens had four children in total. An infant son died early, then his oldest daughter Susy contracted meningitis in 1896. His daughter Jean died of an epileptic seizure in 1909, and his beloved wife Olivia or "Livvy" died in 1904. The deaths of so many of his beloved family greatly affected Clemens. Though he went to Bermuda for his health, when he grew no better, he returned home and in 1910, died from a heart attack.

His remaining daughter, Clara, died in 1962.