The famous American writer Mark Twain was born in a small town named Florida in Missouri in 1835.
In 1839, when he was four years old, the family moved to the town Hannibal in Missouri.
Hannibal is located by the great American river the Mississippi.
In 1847, when Mark Twain was eleven years old, his father died. Mark Twain did not do well in school. When his father died, he had to do some kind of work to support himself and his family.
He had many different jobs during his life. For a while he worked as a printer's apprentice.
The river was an important factor for the people who lived in Hannibal. The steamboats were fascinating.
To work on a steamboat would be great. To be a pilot on a steamboat would be the greatest job ever. Mark Twain decided he wanted to work on a steamboat.
In 1857, a pilot of a local steamboat accepted him as an apprentice. Learning to become a pilot of a steamboat took two years.
In 1859, Mark Twain received his certificate. He worked as a pilot of a steamboat for two years (1859–1861).
The pilot plays an important role on the boat. The pilot must know every part of the river. How deep is the river? The pilot must know how to avoid a sandbar and other obstacles.
The depth of the water was measured very often. The riverboat needed twelve feet or two fathoms of water. Anything less than that had to be avoided.
The measure could be:
Mark Twain!
With two fathoms of water the boat was safe. This call stayed with him when he left Hannibal behind and he began a new chapter of his life.
In 1863, he decided that he was going to use this call as his official name in the future.
The name he was given when he was born, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, became a part of his past.
REFERENCE
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The famous American writer
Mark Twain
(1835-1910)
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Hannibal, Missouri,
located by the great Mississippi river
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The Mark Twain
Boyhood Home & Museum
Hannibal, Missouri
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